••J 




LIBR ,0F CONGRESS. 

©i^itp.y . SxfpiiritUii Ifit 

elf .MX 



UNITED STATES OF ABIERICA. 



A BRIEF DISCUSSION 



OF THE 



Doctrine of Sanctification. 



BY 



D. R. M'ANALLY. 



^M 01- 



Cy. 1880. .-^, 



ST. LOUIS: 

ADVOCATE PUBLISHING HOUSE, 
Logan D. Dameron, Manager. 



Entered accordmg to Act of Congress, in the year 1880, by 

LOGAX D. DAMEROX. Mavac-ir. 
In the office of the Librarian of Congress, a: Washington. 



The Library 
OF Congress 

WASHINGTON 



OONTEKTS. 



Chapter I. 

PAGE. 

Introductory 1 , 7 

Chapter II. 
Introductory and Historical View — Continued. 12 

Chapter III. 

Historical View — Continued 18 

Chapter IV. 

The Doctrine of Sanctification as Taught by the Fol- 
lowers of Mr. Wesley 25 

Chapter V. 

" Inbred Sin " — Depravity — Conversion, or the New 
Birth. . . 32 

Chapter VI. 
Summary 48 

Chapter VII. 

I Sanctification — 2 Sanctify — 3 Sanctified — 4 Sanc- 
tifieth 55 

Chapter VIII. 
Conclusion 6;^ 



TO THE READER. 



The matter here presented for your consideration, was published in^ 
the columns of the St. Louis Christian Advocate in the latter part of 
1876, headed by the following 

PREFACE. 

However singular it may appear, it is nevertheless true, that I write 
this not as the editor of this paper, and publish it not as the voice of the 
paper — not as an expression of the views entertained by the Church, 
nor yet as an exponent of the doctrines held and taught by the ministers 
in those Conferences who have honored the paper by avowing it to be 
their organ. This avowal, made by a majority amounting almost to 
unanimity of so large a number of ministers, has devolved increased 
responsibilities on the editor, in accordance with which he should be 
more than ever careful to adhere strictly and rigidly to Methodistic doc- 
trines, discipline and usages, lest he compromise those who have com- 
mitted to him the management of their official organ. This can readily 
be understood, and by many it will be appreciated as it deserves. 

I have been solicited again and again, and importuned by brethren 
whose opinions I respect and whose wishes 1 regard, to discuss in this 
paper, the doctrine of Christian holiness, sanctification or Christian per- 
fection — these terms being used interchangably. If I consent and assume 
the task, I must discuss the subject as I understand it. None will ex- 
pect anything else. But my understanding of it may, and perhaps does, 
differ from that of others ; hence I prefer to write and publish rather as 



6 PBEFACE. 

a correspondent than as editor of this paper, thereby assuming all the 
responsibihty, and neither directly nor indirectly implicating any one 
else. 

It will be noticed that in the matter as presented here repetitions 
occur in different chapters. This is due to the fact that those chapters 
were pubHshed at different times, and such repetitions were then nec- 
essary to keep the subject properly before the reader's mind. Other 
and pressing engagements have prevented the re-writing and re-arrang- 
ing the matter, hence it is presented here as it originally appeared, with 
only a few verbal changes. 

At some future period it may be revised, some additions made, and 
the whole presented under a different arrangement. D. R. M'A. 

St. Louis, February, 1880. 



THE DOCTRINE OF SANCTIFICATION. 



(^hnvUv Jit^t, 



INTRODUCTORY. 

44/^HRISTIAN thoroughness or completeness is a subject 
^ deeply interesting to all who believe God's word and 
desire to walk in its light." 

No one will deny this, and yet there are questions con- 
nected with the subject which we cannot evade even in our 
thoughts, much less in our discussions. The Christian is 
touched by it at many points, and wide fields, both doc- 
trinal and experimental, open out in almost every direction. 
The Methodist Churches hold, and have always professed 
to hold, the doctrine of " Christian perfection." And yet 
there has never been entire unanimity as to what this per- 
fection was, precisely in what it consisted, or exactly how 
or when it was to be attained. Whether it were a peculiar 
sfaU or condition, a something m itself, as separate from 
other things, to be regarded and sought after as such, or 
whether it were a growth and maturity of some pre-existing 
state or condition, are questions not yet definitely and sat- 
isfactorily settled in the minds of the people. Much has 
been written on the -subject, and still almost every year we 
have an additional volume or two with an indefinite num- 
ber of treatises explaining, elaborating and enforcing it. It 



8 INTBODUCTOBY. 

is held as a doctrine of the Church, is occasionally discus- 
sed in set discourses, and directly or indirectly alluded to 
in almost every sermon we hear. And yet how few profess 
it. Among the ministers perhaps not more than one in fifty ; 
among the members, not more it may be than one in five 
hundred, taking the whole number into the account. John 
Wesley never professed it. In the sixty-fourth year of his 
age, and the forty-second of his ministry, he published a 
letter declaring, " I have told all the world I am not per- 
fect. I have not attained the character I draw ; " yet 
who wrote more, or more explicitly on the subject than he ? 
Bishop Asbury, who in toils, sufferings and labors abund- 
ant, equaled Wesley and exceeded any of his successors, 
never professed it. Bishop Hedding, by whom the present 
writer was ordained to the ministry, and who, perhaps, 
lived as blameless as any man of modern times, never pro- 
fessed it. He approached the grave by lingering disease, 
was always calm and joyful in the faith and hope of the 
gospel and in full view of death, yet though often impor- 
tuned to profess sanctification, he never did it. Among our 
chief shepherds from 1784 down to the present, it is doubt- 
ful if any one of them except Bishop Hamline, ever made 
such a profession. There have been thousands of our peo- 
ple who lived as exemplary and blameless lives and died as 
quietly, as peacefully, as triumphantly as men or women 
ever did, who never made such profession. There are 
thousands now alive whose conduct and conversation are 
upright and unimpeachable, whose intelligence, honesty, 
and piety none question, yet they make no such profession. 
And among those who do make this profession, the most 
rigid scrutiny will fail to detect evidence of greater intelli- 
gence, quicker sensibilities, more enlightened conscience, 
clearer moral perceptions or more uniform consistency than 
are manifested by many others around them. 

Now, in view of all these facts, for facts they are, is it 



INTBODUCTOBY. 9 

not perfectly clear that there is something wrong? If our 
doctrine be true, our experience and practice are at fault ; 
and if our experience and practice be sound and correct, 
•our doctrine is at fault. One or the other must be admit- 
ted to be wrong. They cannot both be right. They are 
. contradictory, and though both might be wrong, both can- 
not be right ; hence the importance and seriousness of the 
discussion , 

Let us try to look at the subject in all the aspects in 
which it has been presented. 

Among Methodists, John Wesley in his teachings has 
been, and to a large extent still is, the great guiding star on 
this subject. His expositions of Scripture have been gen- 
erally accepted and his views regarded as correct. Let us, 
therefore, carefully inquire what those were as set forth in his 
own writings. 

In a sermon on " The New Birth," and speaking directly 
of the new birth, or regeneration, which in that place he 
uses in the same sense, he says : 

This (the new birth) is a part of sanctification, not the whole. It 
is the gate to it, the entrance into it. When, we are born again, then 
our sanctification, our inward and outward hoHness, begins, and thence- 
forward we are gradually to * grow up in Him who is our Head.' This 
expression of the apostle's admirably illustrates the difference between 
one and the other, and farther points out the exact analogy there is be- 
tween natural and spiritual things. A child is born of a woman in a 
moment, or at least in a very short time; afterwards he gradually and 
slowly grows until he attains the stature of a man. In like manner a 
child is born of God in a short time, not in a moment. But it is by 
slow degrees that he afterwards grows up to the measure of the full 
stature of Christ. The same relation, therefore, that there is between 
our natural birth and our growth, there is also between our new birth 
and our sanctification." (Wesley's Works, vol. i, page 406.) 

Again, in a sermon on " Christian Perfection," and speak- 
ing of perfection, he says : 

** Indeed it is only another term for holiness. They are two names 
for the same thing. Thus every one that is holy is, in the Scripture 



10 INTB OD UC TOB J. 

sense, perfect. Yet we may lastly observe, that neither in this respect 
is there absolute perfection on earth. There is uo perfection of degrees, 
as it is termed ; none which does not admit of a continual increase. So 
that how much soever any man has attained, or in how high degree 
soever he is perfect, he still hath need to ' grow in grace,' and daily to 
advance in the knowledge and love of God his Sa^nor." (Wesley's 
Works, vol. I, p. 358.) 

Once more : At a public Conference held in London in 
August, 1770, and referring to the doings of a previous 
Conference held in 1744, he (Wesley) and other members 
of the Conference affirmatively answered the following 

proposition, and accepted it as part of their creed : 

"Does not talking of a justified or sanctified j'z'a/i? tend to mislead 
men ? aimoit naturally leading them to trust in what was done in one 
moment ? Whereas we are every hour and every moment pleasing or 
displeasing io God^, according to our works ; according to the whole of 
our inward temper and outn-ard beha^•ior." 

Now, all this is plain enough. It commends itself to 
both our common sense and inner consciousness, and if 
Mr. Wesley and his followers had stopped at this, there 
might have been little or no difficulty. But they did not, 
as we shall see by and by, and it is that which is to come 
after this that makes the difficulty. 

This is easily understood. " The same relation," says 
he, " which there is between our natural birth and growth, 
there is also between our new birth^and our sanctification." 

Very good. Here is a babe. We speak of its physical 
being and call it perfect. It has all the parts, powers, func- 
tions and susceptibilities of a babe — it is a perfect babe. 
By proper care and nutriment, in conformity to the laws 
governing its physical being, it grows, develops, reaches 
boyhood, and is a perfect boy. Pursuing the same general 
course, and still living in obedience to the law of his physi- 
cal nature, he grows to manhood and is a perfect man. 
But observe, he does not do this " by fits and starts." He 
does not leap from babyhood to boyhood, nor from boy- 



INTBODUCTOHY. 11 

hood to manhood. Nor does he take his nourishment at 
irregular and uncertain periods. It is not once a month 
or once in the week that he is fed, but day by day does 
he attend to his dieting, his clothing, his shelter, and what- 
ever else is necessary to the promotion and perpetuation 
of health, carefully avoiding that which is pernicious, and 
seeking after and using only that which is believed to be 
for good. Thus he grows, develops and strengthens. The 
boy was more than the babe, the man was more than the 
boy, yet the babe and the boy were, as babe and boy, as 
perfect as the man was perfect as a man. Then, if it be 
true that there is the same relation between our new birth 
and our sanctification, as between our natural birth and 
growth, Mr. Wesley was perfectly right in saying there were 
" no perfection of degrees," and also perfectly right when 
he and his preachers said " the talking of a justified or 
sanctified sfa^e tends to mislead men, almost naturally 
leading them to trust in what was done in a moment; 
whereas, we are every moment pleasing or displeasing to 
God, according to our works, according to the whole of 
our inward tempers and our outward behavior." 

So far we get on quite smoothly. But there are other 
views to be taken of Mr. Wesley's teaching. Other things 
are found in his works which point, or seem to point, in a 
direction different from all this. These, too, must be con- 
sidered, and when it is done we will endeavor to come on 
down to the present, calling by the way on those who have 
discussed the subject, and thus endeavor to ascertain ex- 
actly, or as nearly so as possible, what our writers have 
taught, and if we should fail to reconcile these writers, one 
with another, or to reconcile them with themselves individu- 
ally, the reader may attribute that failure either to the 
character of these utterances or the lack of ability on the 
part of the present writer, just as may seem good in his 
own eyes. 



ttajrtjet ^ttmA* 



INTRODUCTORY AND HISTORICAL VIEW CONTINUED. 

TN the first chapter there are presented some extracts from 
^ Mr. Wesley's works, expressing the views he at one time 
held and promulged. We come now to consider him as re- 
lated to another aspect of the case — one in which he is 
listening and giving credence to the experience of divers 
persons who professed to have been instantaneously sancti- 
fied. This began in 1744 or 1745, when, as he states, two 
persons came to him in London, desiring to give an ac- 
count of their experience, " It appeared," he says, '' ex- 
ceedingly strange, but different from any thing I had heard 
before, but exactly similar to the account (he had just 
given) of sanctification. ' The " next year," he continues, 
" two or three more persons at Bristol, and two or three at 
Kingswood, coming to me severally, gave me exactly the 
same account of their experience." A few years later he 
desired all those in London who made the same profession 
to meet him. They, or many of them, did so. He exam- 
ined them closely, and whatever may have been his opinion 
as to the character of the work they professed to have been 
wrought in them, he was satisfied they did not deceive 
themselves. He then goes on to say : 

** In the years 1760, 1761 and 1762 their numbers multiplied exceed- 
ingly, not only in London and Bristol, but in various parts of Ireland as 
well as England. Not trusting to the testimony of others, I carefully 
examined most of these myself; and in London alone I found six hun- 



HISTOBICAL VIEW. la 

dred and fifty-two members of our society who were exceedingly clear 
in their experience, and whose testimony I could see no reason to 
doubt. I believe no year has passed since that time wherein God has 
not wrought the same work in many others ; but sometimes in one part 
of England or Ireland, sometimes in another ; as ' the wind bloweth 
where it hsteth ; ' and every one of these (after the most careful inquiry 
I have not found one either in Great Britain or Ireland) has declared 
that his deliverance from sin was instantaneous ; that the change was 
wrought in a moment. Had half of these, or one-third, or one in 
twenty, declared it was gradually wrought in them, I should have be- 
lieved this with regard to iheju^ and thought that some were gradually 
sanctified and some instantaneously. But as I have not found in so 
long a space of time a^ingle person speaking thus, as all who believe 
they are sanctified declare with one voice that the change was wrought 
in a moment, I cannot but believe that sanctification is commonly, if 
not always, sio. instantaneous vfox]fi.^^ (Sermon on Patience.) 

It will be readily perceived this is a very different view 
from that expressed in the extracts given in the first chapter, 
nor are the views altogether in harmony one with the other. 

It was in 1733 that he first openly proclaimed his views 
on Christian perfection. It was done in a sermon before 
the University, on the " circumcision of the heart." Six 
years afterward he repeated those views perhaps more 
accurately in the sermon on " Christian perfection," and in 
a letter written in 1756, he refers to that latter sermon and 
says it contained his coolest and latest thoughts on that sub- 
ject. The reader will please keep these dates in mind, as 
they may serve an important purpose hereafter. • 

In 1758 some of the preachers began to give Christian 
perfection a more prominent place in their sermons, and 
some of them went off into extravagances, depreciating jus- 
tification, and declaring that all who were not entirely sanc- 
tified were under the curse of God. These errors Wesley 
repudiated in a published letter. But the work had been 
begun and it went on during the years mentioned in the 
extract above. 

What was the result ? First, in his annual visit to Lon- 



li HISTOBICAL VIEW. 

don in 1765, he found that about two-thirds of the whole 
number had ceased to profess sanctification ; and in 1770 
he wrote of those who professed to have obtained it, " hardly- 
one in thirty retained it," and adds, of the hundreds who 
had been partakers of the blessing he doubted " whether 
twenty are now as holy and happy as they were." No doubt 
he did all he could to correct the errors into which many 
of his people had fallen, and prevent the sad results which 
followed, but the tide of feeling swept on. Maxfield and 
Bell formed new societies and denounced Wesley as incapa- 
ble of teaching them anything. Maxfieid carried off some 
two hundred members, formed an independent congregation 
to which he ministered till his death. Bell turned prophet, 
but finding his predictions did not prove true, abandoned 
his religion, turned politician and died an infidel. 

It was long before the societies recovered from the shock 
thus produced, and great indeed was the perplexity and dis- 
tress of Wesley. It was during these trials that he wrote 
his sermon on "the sin of believers," and to appreciate 
that sermon properly it must be considered in referrence to 
these circumstances. 

But now let us inquire if it be probable that the hundreds 
alluded to in the extract above were not simply converted, 
bom anew, and by mistaking the character of the work 
wrought in them, were led to a realization of these sad re- 
sults. Hope the reader will not be startled. I beUeve in 
sanctification, in holiness, ^in Christian perfection, and in 
due time will tell plainly what I think they consist in. But 
for the present let us calmly pursue the inquiry suggested. 
And to help us on we will first take Mr. Wesley's ac- 
count of the change effected by regeneration, as given in 
the same sermon which contained the extract above. The 
account is as follows : 

' * And there is as great a change wrought in our souls when we are 
bom of the Spirit as was wrought in our bodies when we were bom of 



HISTOBICAL VIEW. 15 

a woman. There is in that hour a general change from inward sin to 
inward hoHness. The love of the creature is changed to the love of the 
Creator ; the love of the world to the love of God. Earthly desires, 
the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes and the pride of Hfe are in 
that instant changed by the mighty power of God into heavenly desires. 
The whirlwind of our will is stopped in its mad career and sinks down 
into the will of God. Pride and hautiness subside into lowliness of 
heart, as do anger, with all turbulent and unruly passions, into ca' ill- 
ness, meekness and gentleness. In a word, the earthly, sensual, devil- 
ish mind gives place to the mind that was in Christ Jesus." 

Now take that definition — that view of the changes 
wrought by the new birth, look at it carefully, study it 
closely, and then say if you think it uncharitable to sup- 
pose that those persons alluded to in the first extract might 
have attained to no other state than this, and then mistak- 
ing the real nature and character of the work that had 
been wrought in them, professing something of which per- 
haps they had no very definite idea, thus neglected the 
*' gift that was in them," and so sadly fell away from the 
profession they had made. 

Of course, I assert nothing, nor pretend to judge another 
man's servant ; but is not this one of the most charitable 
solutions we can find for the very singular things that 
unquestionably occurred ? And may it not have been the 
same with very many persons since that time ? They 
were awakened, they were anxious seekers after salvation, 
they were honest and sincere. According to their faith so 
was their enjoyment. Sometimes hoping, sometimes fear- 
ing. Now calm and trustful, now doubting and despond- 
ing, until by some influences from without or within they were 
led to a more entire and thorough consecration of them- 
selves to God, exercising meanwhile a livelier faith in the 
merits of Christ, casting themselves solely on those merits, 
they came to a full, clear, conscious and satisfactory real- 
ization of their acceptance with God. And then what? 
Having desired to be Christians, having sought to be 



16 HISTOBWAL VIEW. 

acceptable to God, having had some comfort in his service, 
but not having felt this before, and hearing much said 
about sanctification as a higher and better state of Christian 
life, is it at all strange they should under those circum- 
stances mistake the true character of the work that had 
been wrought in them, and claim to have been sanctified 
when in reality they had only received the fulness of the 
Spirit of adoption ? Is it asked " how can one have any 
comfort in the service of God before he is born again ? " 
Let the question be in abeyance for the present, the answer 
will be given in due time. 

Now observe: It is not asserted that the suggestions 
above were actually carried out, not asserted that the sup- 
positions were facts. The subject is one of great delicacy, 
and should be handled with the greatest tenderness, lest we 
should " offend one of the little ones that believe in Christ; '^ 
but it is again asked if there be a more charitable or reason- 
able way of accounting for the singular phenomenon to 
which reference has been made — of accounting for the fact 
that from 1759 to 1762 six hundred persons in London 
alone should have professed to have been instantaneously 
sanctified, and then in 1765 two-thirds, or four hundred 
out of the six, had ceased to profess it, and of those who 
did continue the profession " hardly one in thirty retained 
it" in 1770 ! A most singular history indeed. Look at it 
again. Six, hundred persons in London professed instanta- 
neous sanctification. A short time afterward four hundred 
of them had abandoned the profession, then of the two 
hundred that continued the profession not more than half 
a dozen (one in thirty) retained "the blessing." And still 
worse, " of the hundreds," says Mr. Wesley, " who had 
been partakers of the blessing," he doubted if " twenty 
were now as holy and happy as they were." This was a 
most sad state of things, and no wonder Mr. Wesley so 
painfully asked, " shall we defend this perfection, or shall 
we give it up ? 



HISTOBICAL VIEW. 17 

Now, from the extracts published in the first chapter^ 
and from the first extract in this, it is plain that Mr. 
Wesley at different times entertained different views on 
this subject. To be satisfied of this, read the first extract 
in this chapter, then read the following : " When we begin 
to believe then sanctification begins. And as faith in- 
creases holiness increases till we are created anew." 
(Works, vol. 5, p. 197.) "When does sanctification be- 
gin ? In the moment we are justified. The seed of every 
virtue is then sown in the soul. From that time the believer 
gradually dies to sin and grows in grace. Yet sin remains 
in him, yea, the seed of all sin, till he is sanctified throug- 
out in spirit, soul and body." (Ibid. p. 210.) 

I have taken the liberty to italicize the word " grad- 
ually " in the above that particular attention might be called 
to it. It is true, we can more readily reconcile these ex- 
tracts with the one first given in this chapter than we can 
reconcile that ( the first ) with the one given in the first 
chapter. 

Another thought. The last sentence in the extract above 
contains the foundation stone on which the whole super- 
structure of Mr. Wesley's teachings on the subject of sanc- 
tification rests ; and I hope it will not be regarded as pre- 
sumptions in one even as little known and imperfect as is 
the present writer to inquire into the character and soHdity 
of that same foundation stone. A task I propose to under- 
take, but not now, as it will require one or two more chap 
ters to dispose of the historical part of the subject. 



^IxixpUv MivL 



HISTORICAL VIEW. — CONTINUED. 

One great difficulty met by every close studen t of Mr 
Wesley's writings is his apparent failure to keep up a clear 
and well defined distinction between the experimental work 
of regeneration, as he defines it, and the work of sanctifi- 
cation as defined and set forth in the same writings. I say 
apparent failure, for such it must appear to all who look at. 
it attentively, though it may be on/y apparent and not real. 
I also refer to the experimental, because in the purely the- 
oretical he perhaps is sufficiently clear. 

Now, to appreciate the force of this, it is only necessary 
to note a few extracts, in which he speaks of the one and 
then of the other. And first, in speaking of a justified 
person, he says : 

**We allow that the state of a justified person is inexpressibly great 
and glorious. He is born again, ' not of blood, nor of flesh, nor of the 
Avill of man, but of God. ' He is a child of God, a member of Christ 
and an heir of the kingdom of heaven. The peace of God, which 
passeth all understanding, keepeth his heart and mind in Christ Jesus. 
His very body is a temple of the Holy Ghost, and the habitation of God, 
through the spirit. He is created anew in Christ Jesus, he is washed, 
he is sanctified. His heart is purified by faith ; he is cleansed from the 
corruption that is in the world, the love of God is shed abroad in his 
heart by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto him ; and so long as he 
walketh in love, which he may always do, he worships God in spirit and 
truth. He keepeth the commandments of God ^nd doeth those things 
which are pleasing in his sight ; so exercising himself as to have a con- 
science void of offense toward God and man, and he has power both 
over outward and inward sin, even from the moment he is justified. " 
(Wesley's Works, Vol. i, No. 109.) 



BIjSTOmCAL VIEW. 19 

It is certain that in the above the writer refers only to a 
justified person, but in all sincerity it is respectfully asked 
what more could be predicated of one whom he elsewhere 
designates as sanctified. 

On the same page, and only ten lines below where the 
above quotation ends, he says : " When he (St. Paul), 
writes to the beUevers at Corinth, to those who were sancti- 
iied in Christ Jesus (i Cor., i, 2), he says, * I brethren, could 
not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, as 
unto babes in Christ. Ye are yet carnal, for whereas there 
is among you envying and strife, are ye not carnal ?' '^ 
Here the apostle speaks of believers, whom he styles as 
brethren in Christ, and whom he designates as " sanctified 
in Christ Jesus," etc. It is plain, therefore, that in this 
place the term " sanctified " is either used in a sense dif- 
ferent from that in which it is now commonly understood, 
that is, in the sense of entire holiness, or there is some mis- 
take in its common use. Perhaps the mystery may be 
solved by and by. 

Take now what he says in the sermon on the New Birth, 
and published in the first chapter : 

" This (the new birth) is a part of sanctification, not the whole. It 
is the gate to it — the entrance into it. When we are born again, then 
our sanctification, our inward and outward holiness, begins, and thence- 
forward we are gradually to 'grow up in him who is our Head.' This 
expression of the apostles admirably illustrates the difference between 
one and the other, and farther points out the exact analogy there is 
between natural and spiritual things. A child is born of a woman in a 
moment, or at least in a very short time ; afterwards he gradually and 
slowly grows until he attains the stature of a man. In like manner a 
child is born of God in a short time, not in a moment. But it is by 
slow degrees that he afterwards grows up to the measure of the full 
stature of Christ. The same relation, therefore, that there is between 
our natural birth and our growth, there is also between our new birth 
and our sanctification." (Wesley's Works, vol. i, page 406.) 

Add to this what he said in the sermon on Patience, and 

copied in the second chapter : 



20 HliSTOBlCAL VIEW. 

" And the/e is as great a change wrought in our souls when we are 
bom of the Spirit as was wrought in our bodies when we were bom of 
a woman. There is in that hour a general change from inward sin to 
inward holiness. The love of .the creature is changed to the love of the 
Creator ; the love of the world to the love of God. Earthly desires, 
the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes and the pride of life, are 
in that instant changed by the mighty power of God into heavenly de- 
sires. The whirhvind of our will is stopped in its mad career and sinks 
down into the will of God. Pride and haughtiness subside into low- 
liness of heart, as do anger, with all turbulent and unruly passions, into 
calmness, meekness and gendeness. In a word, the earthly, sensual, 
devilish mind, gives place to the mind that was in Christ Jesus." 

Study those three extracts carefully, and see what more 
he makes of what he styles san^tification, except an enlarge- 
ment, strengthening and increase of the " mind of Christ," 
which he asserts is in every regenerate soul. 

One quotation more : Id the sermon on the " Marks of 
the New Birth" (vol. i, p. 155), and speaking of faith as 
one of the marks, he says . " An immediate and constant 
fruit of this faith whereby we are born of God, a fruit which 
we can in no wise be separated from it, no not for an hour, 
is power over sin — power over outward sin of every kind; 
over every evil, word and work ; * * and over inward 
sin ; for it purifieth the heart from every unholy desire and 
temper." What more is claimed for sanctification ? Yet 
this is given as a mark of the new birth. 

Let these quotations suffice for setting forth his views of 
the New Birth, or regeneration, terms which he evidently 
often uses interchangeably, and let us proceed to inquire 
what he means by sanctification. 

In his sermon on " Circumcision of the Heart," preached 
first in 1733, and after revision repeated in 1740, and in 
answer to the inquiry, in what does the circumcision of the 
heart consists ? he says : 

** It is that habitual disposition of soul, which in the sacred writings 
is termed hoUness, and which directly implies the being cleansed from 
sin, from all filthiness, both of flesh and spirit, and by consequence the 



HISTOBICAL VIEW. 21 

being endowed with those virtues which were also in Christ Jesus, the 
being so renewed in the spirit of our mind as to be perfect as our 
Father in heaven is perfect." 

Again, in the sermon on " Perfection," and describing 
what is meant by it, he says : 

" It is the loving the Lord his God with all his heart and with aU his 
soul, and with all his mind. This is the sum of Christian perfection, it 
is all comprised in that one word, *• love." The first branch of it is the 
love of God, and as he that loves God loves his brother also, it is insep- 
arably connected with the second, * Thou shalt love thy neighbor as 
thyself.' Thou shalt love every man as thy own soul, as Christ loved 
us. On these two commandments hang all the law and all the prophets, 
these contain the whole of Christian perfection. * * * Perfection is 
another name for universal holiness, inward and outward righteous- 
ness ; hoUness of life arising from holiness of heart." 

Compare these with the views expressed in regard to the 
new birth and see how difficult it is to perceive any clear 
and well defined distinction between them. 

Again, in the same sermon, he says : 

** In conformity, therefore, both to the doctrine of St. John and to 
the whole tenor of the New Testament, we fix this conclusion, a Chris- 
tian is so far perfect as not to commit sin.'^ 

Now, when we attempt to compare his views of the new 
birth with those on sanctification, we find that in many re- 
spects he predicates the same quaUties and results both 
of the one and of the other. This was to have been ex- 
pected. But some of the quaUties and results so predicated 
would seem to identify the work referred to as one and the 
same. Of Christian perfection he says, " perfect as not to 
commit sin," of regeneration he declares substantially the 
same. Both enable the possessor to live so as not to com- 
mit sin, both give power over outward and inward sin ; and 
to live so as not to commit sin, he declares to be the privi- 
lege "of every Christian, though but a babe in Christ." 
And it must be remembered that he expressly defines sin to 



22 HISTORICAL VIEW. 

be " voluntary transgression of a known law." Both these 
characters, the regenerate and the sanctified, are tempted — 
both have power to overcome. 

In the sermon on " Patience " he says of the renewed 
man, " In the same proportion as he grows in faith he grows 
in hohne:;s, he increases in love, lowUness, meekness, in every 
part of the image of God, till it pleases God, after he is thor- 
oughly convinced of inbred sin, of the total corruption of his 
nature to take it all away, to purify his heart and cleanse it 
from all unrighteousness. * * Till this universal change 
was wrought in his soul all his holiness was mixed. He was 
humble, but not entirely, his humility was mixed with 
pride; he was meek, but his meekness was frequently inter- 
rupted by anger, etc." 

Again, in his sermon on '* Sin in believers," he says : 

" There are in every person, even after he is justified, two contrary 
principles, nature and grace, termed by St. Paul thtjiesh and the spirit 
Hence, although even babes in Christ are sanctified, yet it is only in 
part. In a degree, according to the measure of their faith, they are 
spiritual, yet in a degree they are carnal." 

Here, then, we seem to have the distinction which he 
made between regeneration and sanctification. The latter 
being a higher state attained after a man has been 
" thoroughly convinced of inbred sin, of the total corruption 
of his nature." 

Now, the present writer ventures the suggestion that the 
apparent want of clearness that characterizes Mr. Wesley's 
teachings at different times on this subject, and the difficul- 
ty of reconciling one part with another, may be accounted 
for on the supposition that he, being a churchman and sub- 
scribing heartily to the thirty-nine articles, endeavored to 
reconcile his doctrines with the ninth article, which is as 
follows : 

" Original sin standeth not in the following of Adam (as the Pelagi- 
ans do vainly talk), but it is the fault and corruption of the nature of 



HISTOBICAL VIEW. 23 

every man, that naturally is engendered of the offspring of Adam, 
whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness, and is of his 
own nature inclined to evil, so that the flesh lusteth always contrary to 
the spirit ; and therefore in every person born into thi^s world it deserv- 
eth God's wrath and damnation. And this infection of nature doth re- 
main, yea, in them that are regenerated, whereby the lust of the flesh, 
which some do expound the wisdom, some sensuality, some the affec- 
tion, some the desire of the flesh, is not subject to the law of God. 
And although there is no condemnation for them that believe and are 
baptized, yet the apostle doth confess that concupiscence and lust hath 
of itself the nature of sin." 

Unless I greatly mistake, right there in the words, " this 
infection of nature doth remain, yea, in them that are re- 
generate," is to be found the ground work on which was 
erected the theory of sanctification, as taught by Mr. Wes- 
ley and others. That was the beginning. Believing that 
to be true it was easy to see that some work of grace ad- 
ditional to that of regeneration, as defined by him, was im- 
portant, nay indispensable, to salvation. Hence that ad- 
ditional work was supposed to be that alluded to in the 
Bible by the terms — perfect, perfection, and sanctification. 
If we extend our inquiries a little farther we will find good 
reason to believe that the idea and doctrine of Purgatory 
had a similar origin. Once admit all that is taught in this 
ninth article to be true, admit this " infection doth remain 
in them that are regenerate," and admit further that " it 
deserveth God's wrath and damnation," and the grave 
question will very naturally arise, *' how are we to be rid of 
it?" Hence the resort to the doctrine of purgatory, or 
rejecting this, then to the doctrine of a separate and distinct 
work of grace in the heart, called sanctification, or by some 
other equivalent term. Both these views are the legitimate 
ofishoots of the same root, the same psychological view, 
and if the root be sound and the view correct, then one or 
the other of these results must be accepted. But is the 
root sound ? That^ in this connection, is the question of 



24 HISTOBICAL VIEW. 

questions. Mr. Wesley, during most of his life, accepted 
it as true, and yet when he abridged the thirty-nine arti- 
cles for the use of the societies in America, he left it out, 
thus indicating that his opinions had been changed, and if 
so he continued to advocate the superstructure after he had 
removed the base. He believed and taught this doctrine 
of the ninth article as he believed and taught the dqctrine 
of baptismal regeneration ; and that he afterwards dis- 
carded both, we may be satisfied, although the proofs there- 
of are rather indirect and circumstantial than direct and 
positive. 

Now, from what has been presented, we reach the con- 
clusion : I. That at one time Mr. Wesley taught a grad- 
ual and progressive sanctification. 2. At another time he 
believed and taught that it was an instantaneous work, or 
a work performed instantaneously. 3. That it is difficult, 
if not impossible, to gain an idea of any clear and satisfac- 
tory distinction made and carried out by him between re- 
generation and sanctification, taking his own definition of 
both. 4. To get at the matter properly, it is necessary to 
inquire into the soundness of the doctrine of the famous 
ninth article, which of course opens a very wide field. But 
" we shall see what we shall see." 



THE DOCTRINE OF SANCTIFICATION AS TAUGHT BY FOLLOW- 
ERS OF MR. WESLEY. 

T ATE in life, in the time of his old age, Mr. Wesley said,. 
■'^ " I have left many errors behind me in my works, which 
it is now too late for me to correct, and which, therefore, I 
leave to be corrected by my followers." He was so in- 
tensely devoted to religion that he gave but little time, and 
perhaps but little thought, to the science of theology. He 
formulated no confession of faith until he prepared the 
Twenty-four Articles of Religion for the use of the Amer- 
ican Societies. He traveled much, wrote much, preached 
much, and was confessedly not only an active, diligent, 
faithful and useful man, but also an earnest inquirer after 
truth, and as Mr. Tyerman has shown, and as any close ob- 
server may see, he at different periods of his life, and that 
too on subjects of first importance, occupied positions dia- 
metrically opposite to each other. This was true in regard 
to the doctrine of baptismal regeneration, the doctrine of 
Christian perfection and some others. Few or none of his fol- 
lowers have ever attempted to correct the errors to which he 
alluded in the statement quoted above. Some have followed 
him in one particular, some in another, hence there has not 
been that uniformity in their teaching there would have 
been had all adopted the twenty-four articles, which really 
constitute one of the most, if not the most, perfect and com- 
plete confessions of faith to be found among all the writ- 
ings of uninspired men. In this I refer to the original 
twenty- four articles ; the one added by the American Meth- 



26 TEE DOCTBIXE OF SANCTIFICATIOX 

odists cannot, in strictness, be regarded as an article oi 
Christian faith applicable to all Christians. 

In the last chapter on this subject the suggestion was 
made that Mr. Wesley's \aews in regard to Christian per- 
fection or sanctification may have been, and most likely 
were shaped, to some extent at least, by the doctrine of the 
ninth article of the Church of England, which article he, 
during the greater part of his life, most steadfastly believed. 
He believed " original sin is the corruption of the nature ot 
every man, and that this infection of nature doth remain, 
yea, in them that are regenerated, etc." And although he 
left this out when he prepared the Twenty-four Articles for 
the American Societies, thereby indicating that he had 
changed his opinions either as to its truth or its importance, 
we have not found more than one or two of his followers 
who have written on the subject at all that did not either 
openly or tacitly proceed on this very ground — this assump- 
tion that " This infection of nature doth remain in them 
that are regenerated." Sometimes it is spoken of as " de- 
pra\dt}%" oftener as " inbred sin," whatever that may be, but 
the leading idea is the same. We have with some care 
looked over the works of Merritt, Bangs, Peck, Hamline, 
Foster, Curry, Mattison and others of this country, as well 
as the works of not a few who lived beyond the waters, and 
so far as we can see or judge, not one of these great and 
good men have been able to maintain a clear and practical 
distinction between those wlio are supposed to be simply 
regenerate, and those who are accounted to be freed from 
depravity or " inbred sin." The only distinction that is 
clear, and likely to be satisfactory, is such as might be 
made between the babe and the boy, or the boy and the 
man. They all, or nearly all, set out with the assumption 
that our sanctitication begins with our regeneration but 
does not end "with it, and then proceed upon the assump- 
tion of " the remains of sin," of " depravity or inbred sin. 



.AS TA UGH T BY FOLL O WEB S OF MB. WE8LE Y. 27 

still existing, and to be removed by sanctification. Rev. R. 
S., now Bishop Foster, may be regarded as speaking for 
the whole class when he says : 

" Believers are not by virtue of the new birth entirely 
free from sin, either as it respects the inward taint or out- 
ward occasional act." (Christian Purity, 2d edition, p. 
107.) 

Here before me is a book bearing the imprint of the 
Southern Methodist Publishing House, on the 40th page of 
which is the following : 

*' Our sanctification, therefore, begins in our regeneration, 
l>ut does not end with it. Regeneration is an instanta- 
neous work — it admits of no degrees, of no progression. We 
cannot be partially regenerate — we either are or are not 
born again." 

Here it is easily perceived the author uses the term " re- 
generate " and " born again," as denoting one and the 
same thing. 

Again, on page 41, we read : 

" In the new birth all the principles of a holy nature are 
implanted in the soul, but they must take root downward 
and bring forth fruit upward ; and this cannot be done to 
perfection until every root of bitterness is extracted by sanc- 
tifying grace." (Summers on Holiness.) 

This is like putting good sound seeds in a weedy garden, 
they " must take root downward and bring forth fruit up- 
ward," but it cannot be done to perfection until every nox- 
ious weed and root is extracted. In such a case it may well 
be asked, where then is the regenerate, the renewed, the 
new-born garden ? 

According to Foster, the seeds might be considered to 
be in one part of the garden and the weeds in another — 
else the weeds simply cut down, with the roots left to sprout 
and grow again on the first opportunity. 

In both these cases the doctrine of the ninth article is 



28 THE DOC TBINE OF SANCTIFICA TION 

• 

easily detected — " the infection remaining in them that are 
regenerated." 

To get properly, and if possible, satisfactorily at this mat- 
ter, attention is asked to a few questions bearing directly 
upon it. 

1. Do the terms " regenerate " and " new birth " mean 
the same thing ? Nearly or quite all these writers use them 
interchangeably — are they right in so doing ? Is there no 
difference between regenerate and born again ? Does re- 
generate from, re-geiiero — to generate, produce or form 
anew, {rom genere (generate) to beget, to produce, procreate 
— mean the same as lf(?rn again, or new birth ? Let the 
reader think of it seriously and answer for himself. 

2. In a theological sense, and taken in its proper and 
widest significance, does not regeneration, as a work of the 
Spirit, embrace all the work of the Holy Spirit in man, 
from the very first operation, on through various stages, in- 
cluding even the resurrection, till the man has been re/ro- 
duced, formed anew, and stands forth as when first created ? 

3. " We either are, or are not, born again; " and when 
born again are we born in whole or in part only, or are we 
born with moral deformities as moral monsters ? When 
born again, we are in Christ Jesus ; if in Christ Jesus we 
are new creatures^ or a new creation. New in whole, or new 
in part only ? Which ? 

4. When our blessed Lord was on earth tabernacling 
among men, and the impotent came to him with faith in 
his power and willingness to heal — did he open only one 
eye of the blind, unstop only one ear of the deaf, give 
strength to only one leg of the lame, or heal the lepers only 
in part, or did he make them " every whit whole ? " When 
from the bed on which most likely she had died, he raised 
the daughter of Jairus, or the widow's son from the bier on 
which he was being carried to burial, or Lazarus after he 
had lain four days in the grave, was it to a partial or a vigor- 



AS TAUGHT BY FOLLOWEBS OF MB. WESLEY. 29 

ous life that he raised them ? Were not all these works 
complete, and can we suppose Christ's power over spiritual 
death is less complete than over natural death, or why- 
should the inner salvation be less thorough than the outer, 
or the outer work more complete than the inner ? Was not 
the same faith that secured the opening of one eye, or one 
ear, sufficient to secure the opening of both ? And will not 
the faith that brings salvation to the soul at all, be sufficient 
to bring full salvation according to the capacity of the re- 
cipient ; or in a word, may one have faith enough to be 
only partially, and not completely, converted in the Bible 
sense of that term ? These are serious questions, that de- 
serve to be seriously considered. I am well aware of the 
answers that have been given, and will likely be repeated 
again and again, but am also deeply impressed with the 
conviction that these answers are given in accordance with 
certain psychological views, which cannot be successfully 
defended. These views will pass under review hereafter. 

But further : If at the new birth a residue of depravity or 
" inbred sin" be left in us, for what purpose is it left ? Can 
a satisfactory answer be found ? Surely he who half cleanses 
the heart can make it wholly clean, and all we know of his 
character would lead us to expect he would complete the 
work at once, while every reason which calls for the re-, 
moval of a part calls for the removal of all. Must the babe 
in Christ start in his heavenward flight on a broken wing, 
or is it said of him as it was said of Lazarus, " loose him 
and let him go ? " 

From every consideration bearing upon the case I am 
forced to conclude that the new-born babe in Christ is a 
perfect babe ; has a love perfect in its nature, and as per- 
fect or full in its measure as his capacity will allow, and 
thenceafter may grow to perfect manhood in Christ Jesus. 
But if this residue, or inbred sin, theory is pressed upon us 
we must be permitted to ask for plain and positive scripture 



30 THE DOC TBINE OF SAXC TIFICA TION 

proofs to support it. This is fair. It is what we have a 
right to do, and what we ought to do. It is too grave a 
matter, and involves too much either to be passed over 
slightly or received or rejected on the mere say so of man. 
It is not Scripture proof of the doctrine of sanctification or 
Christian perfection that is asked for. We have abundant 
proof in the Bible that God's people must be sanctified ; 
must be holy and perfect, as those terms are used in the 
Bible, but what is asked for is scripture proof that the sanc- 
tification required by the Scriptures is to take away a resi- 
due of sin — of inbred sin — ^left in the soul at the time of its 
birth to Christ and remaining in it until removed by that 
additional and specific work called sanctification. That is 
the point on which proof is asked, and asked in full view 
of all the texts that have been quoted to sustain the asser- 
tion. Let any man carefully and critically examine those 
texts, and I greatly mistake if he do not reach the conclu- 
sion that they are not only susceptible of a different 
construction, but that a difterent construction is more con- 
sistent with the context, and with the general tenor of God's 
word. 

But it is argued that we must admit the existence of this 
" inbred " " indwelling " sin or contradict Christian Expe- 
rience. No. The varied changes in Christian experience 
may be accounted for without any such admission. At least 
so thinks the present writer, and so he will undertake to 
show. If successful in the effort then we must look for 
some other basis for the doctrine of sanctification, which 
doctrine, as now generally taught, rests on the idea of " in- 
bred " or indwelling sin " in those who are regenerate," the 
very same basis on which rests the idea of purgatory, both 
being founded on the notion of incompleteness in the work 
of the new birth. 

And now in closing this chapter I repeat in substance a 
question to which serious attention is asked. 



AJS TAUGHT BY FOLLO WEBS OF MB. WESLEY. 31 

Does the first and great commandment exclude all loves 
except that for the" Lord our God," or does it include other 
loves, but subordinating them to our love to God ? If the 
latter, then the command " Thou shalt love the Lord thy 
God with all thy heart," etc., really means that the leading, 
controlling, governing affections and powers of heart and 
mind be devoted to him, and all other love subordinated to 
this, and in that case it may be asked can a man be really 
an adopted child of God without feeling a deeper and 
stronger love to Him than to any or all things else ? 

Finally, if any one say " I feel — am conscious of indwell- 
sin," let him pray for deliverance, and turn to the next chap-^ 
ter. 



** INBRED SIN " — DEPRAVITY CONVERSION, OR THE NEW 

BIRTH. 

T^HERE are but few questions in dogmatic theology about 
-■■ which there has been more discussion, or a greater va- 
riety of opinion, than about the moral or spiritual condition 
and relations of man in the first stages of his earthly exist- 
ence. By some he is regarded as impure, sinful and de- 
serving eternal damnation ; and by others looked upon as 
pure and spotless as the white paper on which T now write, 
and ready to receive any or every impression, either good 
or bad, that may be sought to be made upon him. One in- 
sists that he is totally depraved, while the other contends 
that, in regard to good or evil, he is entirely neutral, and 
no more inclined to the one than to the other, consequently 
may as easily be led in a good as in a bad way. These are 
the extremes, and between them there is almost every pos- 
sible shade of opinion. 

The following may be sketched as representative views, 
formulated by different bodies of professed Christians : 

" The doctrine of the Catholic Church," says Moehler, 
*' on original sin, is extremely simple, and may be reduced 
to the following propositions : Adam, by sin, lost his orig- 
inal justice and holiness; drew down on himself, by his 
disobedience, the displeasure and judgments of the Al- 
mighty, incurred the penalty of death, and thus in all his 
parts — in his body as well as soul — became strangely dete- 
riorated. Thus his sinful condition is transmitted to all his 
posterity, as descended from him, entailing the consequence 



" INBBED 8IN"—DEPBA VI TY— C ONVEBSION, 33 

tnat man is of himself incapable — even with the aid of the 
most perfect ethical law offered to him from without (not 
excepting even the one in the Old Covenant) — to act in a 
manner agreeable to God, or in any other way to be justi- 
fied before Him, save only by the merits of Jesus Christ." 

The Heidelberg Catechism has the following : 

" Ques. 7. Whence, then, proceeds this depravity of 
human nature ? 

" Ans. From the fall and disobedience of our first par- 
ents, Adam and Eve, in Paradise ; hence our nature is 
become so corrupt that we are all conceived and born in 
sin." 

" Ques. 8. Are we, then, so corrupt that we are wholly 
incapable of doing any good, and inclining to all evil ? 

" Ans. Indeed we are ; except we are regenerated by the 
Spirit of God." 

The Westminster divines formulated their views on the 
subject in the following language: 

" I. Our first parents, being seduced by the subtlety and 
temptation of Satan, sinned in eating the forbidden fruit. 
This, their sin, God was pleased, according to His wise and 
holy counsel, to permit, having purposed to order it to His 
own glory. 

" 2. By this sin they fell from their original righteous- 
ness and communion with God, and so became dead in 
sin, and wholly dejected in all the faculties and parts of 
soul and body. 

" 3. They, being the root of all mankind, the guilt of 
this sin was imputed, and the same death in sin and cor- 
rupted nature conveyed to all their posterity, descending 
from them by ordinary generation. 

" 4. From this original corruption, whereby we are utterly 
indisposed, disabled and made opposite to all good, and 
wholly inclined to all evil, do proceed all transgressions. 

" 5. This corruption of nature during this life d^th re- 



34 OB THE NE WBIB TH. 

main in those that are regenerated ; and though it be, 
through Christ, pardoned and mortified, yet both itself and 
all the motions thereof are truly and properly sin. 

^' 6. Every sin, both original and actual, being a trans- 
gression of the law of God, and contrary thereunto, doth, 
in its own nature, bring guilt upon the sinner, whereby he 
is bound over to the wrath of God and curse of the law, 
and so made subject to death, with all miseries, temporal, 
spiritual and eternal." 

These, taken in connection with the Ninth Article of the 
Church of England, which is also in the Creed of 
the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States, 
and with the Fifth Article of the Methodist churches, 
may be regarded as fairly representing the views of all the 
leading Christian denominations. The 9th and 5th Articles 
alluded to have heretofore been presented, and the differ- 
ence between them pointed out, and need not be repeated 
here. 

It is noticeable that both the Episcopalians and the 
Assembly or Westminster divines hold that *•' this infection 
or corruption of nature doth remain in them that are re- 
generate," and both maintain that " it hath in itself the na- 
ture of sin — doth in its own nature bring guilt upon the 
sinner, and bind him over to the wrath of God and the 
curse of the law..' 

Let us now see how far, if at all, these views may be 
harmonized. The extremes have been stated. It may be 
well to restate them ; and there is no intention to make in- 
vidious distinctions when it is said of the New England 
Congregationalists that they fairly represent one extreme 
view, in that they describe man as "dead in sin and wholly 
defiled in all the faculties and parts of his soul and body." 

The New England Unitarians represent the other ex- 
treme when they present man, not as dead nor as ''dead- 
sick, but naturally in health sufficient, with proper diet and 
exercise, to develop into perfection." 



" IJ^BBED Sm"-DEPBA VI TY- CONVEBSION, 35 

Let us look closely at these two extremes, and, if, possi- 
ble, ascertain the basis on which they respectively rest. 

If the fall of man mean anything, it means a complete 
alienation from God. Having fallen, then, if left entirely 
to himself, man would never have made a right choice nor 
performed a holy act. " The race," says Dr. Bellows, 
*' whose progenitor began his career in an act of deliber- 
ate rebellion, would not do otherwise than fly from bad to 
worse." 

Now, then, considering man as fallen and completely 
alienated from God, the source of all good, and also con- 
sidering him separately from the promise of a Redeemer, 
and separately from every part and parcel of a redemptory 
scheme, it must be admitted that the views of all that 
school represented by the Congregationalists, are correct — 
must be admitted that man " is dead in sin and wholly de- 
filed in all the faculties and parts of his soul and body." 
Such must be his condition in a state of complete aliena- 
tion from God. 

But that is not the light in which to consider man as he 
now is. He is a fallen being, but he is also a redeemed be- 
ing ; and whatever of good, either to body, mind, or pure 
spirit, he enjoys, " comes down form the Father of Lights 
through the righteousness, mediation and merits of the 
Redeemer." Hence, as that Redeemer died for all, and 
was that " light that lighteth every man that cometh into 
the world," the probability is there is not now, nor ever was, 
a redeemed man on earth in whom there was not, at some 
period of his probationary life, some good, some spiritual 
good, if you please, which was the gift of God. It may 
have been no more than an impulse, an aspiration, or a de- 
sire towards, or for, that which is high, holy and good ; 
yet, much or little, strong or weak, manifesting itself in this 
way or in that, whatever of good comes to man comes from 
God, and copiey through the merits of the " only begotten 



36 OB THE NE W BIB TH. 

Son " whom God gave as man's Redeemer. Then, if a 
measure of spiritual good is given to every man, every man 
may become a co-worker with that spirit of good ; and 
while God works in him " to will and to do of his good 
pleasure," he, man, may " work out his salvation with fear 
and trembling." So, right here, you see, comes in the doc- 
trine referred to as represented by the Unitarians. If we 
refer to man as left by the fall, and without a Redeemer, 
the Congregationalist is right. If we refer to man as en- 
dowed by certain unmerited and special favors of divine 
grace through the merits of Christ, the Unitarian is right. 
The Old School Calvinist says " man has no right ability ;" 
and in the state superinduced by the fall, this is true. The 
New School Calvinist affirms that '• man can fulfill God's 
requirements ; " and, in view of the gracious ability which 
God bestows, this is true. 

However it may appear to others, to the mind of the 
present writer this is a plain, natural and satisfactory expla- 
nation of the difference between the parties in regard to 
the subject of depravity. 

But you ask, what has this to do with the doctrine of 
sanctification ? The answer is, much, every way. If we 
would thoroughly understand a structure, it is needful not 
only to understand its form and the nature of the materials 
of which it is composed, but the foundation on which it 
rests as well ; and to get at the foundation, the views here 
expressed in regard to "original sin," " depravity," " inbred 
sin," or whatever else you may please to term it, are pre- 
sented. And taking these views, we may thence proceed, 
with an effort, to find a satisfactory answer to the question, 
"When, in a scriptural sense, a man is converted, regener- 
erated, born again, what is done for him — what change is 
wrought in or upon him ? " We may then assume that, in 
every true Christian, there is a dual nature, or two natures 
— one designated in the Scriptures as theyf<fj"//, the other as 



" INBBED 1SIN"—DEPMA VI TY—CONVEBSION, 37 

the spirit: that these are opposed one to the other, and lust 
or strive one against the other ; that between these two na- 
tures is the great battle of Christian Ufe ; and that in the 
full triumph of the latter over the former is found the 
Christian's perfectibility. 

Regarding the question of depravity in the light presented 
let us proceed to a consideration of the question. When a 
man is converted, regenerated or born again in the Script- 
ural sense of those terms, what is done for him ? What 
change has been wrought, and what part of the nature is 
most or most directly affected thereby ? 

Considered in their etymological significance, we all know 
what these. words mean. We all know that " convert," from 
converto, signifies, as a verb, to change from one substance 
or from one condition to another, and may refer to a man's 
mental or moral condition, or to his thoughts and feelings, 
or to his outward conduct and manner of life ; and as a 
noun conversion means substantially the same. 

We also know that regenerate signifies to generate again 
or anew, and that generate, from genero, means to beget, to 
procreate, to produce or to propagate ; hence /-^fgenerate is 
to do this again or anew. All this is plain enough, and if 
we stick closely to the proper meaning of words we are not 
likely to encounter serious difficulty 

The phrase, born again or new birth, conveys its own 
meaning too clearly to require definition, and as there is no 
natural birth without natural generation, so we may infer ^ 
there is no supernatural birth without supernatural genera- 
tion ; and in both cases the generation is supposed to pre- 
cede the birth, If this be so, then our writers have con- 
fused their readers by confounding things which are really 
different in the order of precedence, if not different in nature 
as well. 

As was previously suggested, regeneration in its widest 
and full significance, embraces the entirety of the work of 



38 OE THE NE W BIB TH. 

grace wTOught in man from the first divine illuminations to 
the final triumph over the guilt, dominion, power and effects 
of sm, until, in a word, man has, through grace, been re- 
made and stands forth redeemed and saved from all sin 
and from all the effects of sin. This, of course, will include 
the resurrection of both soul and body. The one was 
dead to God and has been made alive by the quickening 
Spirit j the other must die and be raised again, as Christ, 
the first fruits, was raised. 

But to get the matter more directly and more satisfac- 
torily before us, it may be well to remark that when we ex- 
amine the Scriptures carefully, and carefully compare one 
part with another, we find ourselves authorized to look upon 
Christian life in a trifold manifestation. Not three lives, 
but a threefold manifestation of one Christian life. These 
are the life practical, the life intellectual and the life purely 
spiritual or mystic. The practical, so far as it relates to 
the individual alone, is the lowest form of Christian life 
that is raised above the mere susceptibilities of sense and 
resting on the active powers. It shows what a man does. 
The life intellectual is an advance, and one step at least 
above the practical. It rests in the thinking powers and 
illustrates what a man is. The close thinker will perceive 
the difference between these and learn to estimate the two 
according to their relative value. 

But still there is another and a higher form of Christian 
life, which may be designated as the life mystical, purely 
spiritual or religious. It rests in those susceptibilities, emo- 
tional, intellectual and moral, which men experience toward 
the unseen source of power and goodness, and manifests 
itself in the exercise of special religious feelings and intui- 
tions. These being drawn toward, united to, and exercised 
with the spirit of the great Father of all, in conformity 
with the redemptory scheme and the gospel plan, consti- 
tute the highest form of Christian life. To this all other 
forms are subordinate, and by this they are regulated. 



''INBBED8IN"—DEPBAVITY—C0NVEBS10N, 39 

And here let it be particularly noted, that this form of 
Christian life never exists but in connection with the second 
and first ; while the second and first may, and often do 
exist without this. Still, however correct and unblamable 
among men the life practical and the Hfe intellectual may 
appear, they do but simulate, and not constitute the true 
Christian. The true and real Christian is constituted by 
the life purely spiritual, or what the Master terms the 
" eternal life," which he declares to be possessed by them 
who believe on him. This life existing, the other forms 
follow as necessary consequents and dependents. 

Attention is now asked to another remark %, the same 
connection. This mystic or purely spiritual life is a life 
begotten in us by the Holy Ghost. Pause and collsjder this 
well. A life begotten in us. A life begotten in us. In our 
intellectual powers ? In our pathematic sensibilities, such 
as our instincts, appetites, propensities and affections ? In 
our moral sensibilities or in our volitions ? These are all 
involved and all more or less affected, but there is some- 
thing more than all these ; something behind and below 
them all, and, in plain English, this something is known as 
I — fue. While to denote the possessions of the possessor 
" / or me" the terms " my — mine " are used ; hence we say 
my thoughts, my feelings, my desires, volitions, etc., in all 
of which we recognize the undefined and indefinable ego or 
/. Now, unless the writer misjudges, it is this ego or I on 
which the Holy Spirit operates and in which it begets this 
spiritual, mystic or " eternal life," and none but the Spirit 
of the great Creator, who knoweth what is in man, can 
directly reach this ego. If it be contended that the Spirit 
reaches the ego through or by means of the perceptions, 
sensations, intellections, volitions and affections, that may 
be admitted, and yet it remains true, that perceptions, sen. 
sations, etc., differ from the power or susceptibility on 
which they rest, and from which they proceed. The power 



40 OB THE NEW BIETH. 

or susceptibility is in the ego, and when exercised in this 
way or that, the exercise or manifestation is called percep- 
tion, sensation, etc., and we know these perceptions, sensa- 
tions, volitions, etc., may, and often do change without any 
cognizable change in the ego itself. But if the ego be 
changed, a corresponding change in all these will follow 
as a legitimate consequent. 

So far as I can understand the writings of Bishop Butler 
and a number of the leading writers among the Methodists 
and others, they either directly or indirectly teach that 
what religion does for us here, is to readjust and restore a 
disordered moral constitution. That it does this, there is 
no doubt, but how is it done? 

If the views expressed in regard to regeneration be cor- 
rect, then the very first influences of the Spirit of God on 
the spirit of man are part and parcel in the operations oi 
I egen crating grace. These influences bring light and ex- 
cite moral emotions, accompanied by the feelings of moral 
obligation, enabling the man to perceive and feel 
" there's danger and ruin here ; there's peace and safety 
there. I ought to be thus or to do this." " I ought not 
to be thus, nor to do that." The man is quickened, 
awakened and, as we commonly use the word in this con- 
nection, he is convicted. With the spiritual influence that 
quickens, awakens, convicts — there is an investment of spirit- 
ual power — power to will and to do according to God's 
good pleasure. But he who is quickened is not dead; he 
who is awakened is not asleep. There is light, there is 
power — power to obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit 
and follow his teachings — power to repent, believe and be 
saved. Where these are there must be life — regenerating 
life. It may be as life in the chrysalis, or as life i?i utero. 
It may be very feeble, so feeble as scarcely to be cogniza- 
ble, nevertheless it is life. Cherish it agreeably to the 
requisitions of the gospel and the teachings of God's word, 



" INBBED SIN^'-DEPBA VI TJ—CONVEBSION, 41 

and it strengthens, becomes more active, and the soul 
in connection with, and under the guidance and 
strength of the Holy Spirit, '' travails in pain" and is born 
again. The ego has been reached, acted upon, and 
changed by the power of God. He is born into a life of 
liberty. What that life is, in its essence, we cannot tell. 
No more can we tell what is the life of the vegetable or of 
the mere animal. We can reduce either to its elemental 
principles, and tabulate those elements as so much of this 
and so much of that, but in neither case is there a residuum 
we call life. Yet we know there was there what we call 
life, and by internal consciousness we may know as cer- 
tainly, and more so, that eternal life has been begotton in 
us by the power of the Holy Ghost. Now this eternal Hfe 
is perfect in its nature and perfect in its degree, according 
to the capacity and faith of the recipient, but it does not 
therefore follow that the avenues through which it manifests 
itself are perfect. The ego has been born again — the birth 
was complete — the life with which and unto which it has 
been born is perfect, but the avenues through which that 
life is to act and manifest itself have been perverted, dark- 
ened, benumbed, deadened. These avenues are the natural, 
intellectual and sensitive powers ; the intellect, with all its 
capabilities and its susceptibilities ; with all the pathematic 
and all the moral sensibilities. Their perversions must be 
corrected, their numbness and deadness quickened into 
healthful activity. The understanding must be enlightened, 
the judgment corrected, the will controlled, and all the ap- 
petites, propensities and affections put and kept under pro- 
per restraint, so that there may be a just equipoise and har- 
monization between the intellectual, sensitive and volitive 
powers of the ego, that the intellect may clearly perceive 
all the relations of the man— the moral sense keei»ly feel all his 
obligations, the judgment readily approve, the will embrace? 
and the affections cleave only to that which is right, and 



42 OB THE NEW BIB TH. 

pure, and good ; all, all, acting and continually acting with- 
out inharmony, discord or a jarring note. Then to put the 
world within us, in harmony with the world without us ] so 
that the intellective, sensitive and volitive powers should 
exactly correspond to that in the outer world by which they 
should be impressed ; to do all this, and do it completely, 
would be to place man's nature exactly where it was when 
the great Creator pronounced it very good. And this, 
embracing also the body, is what we understand to be the 
full work of regeneration. 

Here comes in that warfare to which St. Paul so often 
alludes and which he so graphically describes, wherein the 
flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the 
flesh. Here come what John Wesley called the two 
natures that were in every converted man — one known as 
the Jiesh the other as the spirit, contending one against 
the other. Here come in both the new and the old man 
of whom St. Paul has so much to say, and a proper esti- 
mate of these two natures might greatly assist us in our 
estimates both of ourselves and of others. 

The Christian is to be viewed in two aspects — as a child 
of God, and as a child of Adam. As by natural descent 
and natural birth he is a child of Adam, so by spiritual 
generation and spiritual birth he is a child of God. He is 
born of God, and is as truly a child of God as he is a child 
of Adam, and as by natural birth he inherits the nature of 
Adam, so by a spiritual birth he becomes a partaker of the 
divine nature; hence, as John Wesley remarks (Vol. i, p. 
115), " There are in every person, even after he is justified, 
two contrary principles, nature and grace, termed by St. 
Paul \hQjlesh and the spirit ; hence, although even babes 
in Christ are sanctified, yet it is only in part. In a degree 
according t^ the measure of their faith they are spiritual; 
but in a degree they are carnal." 

Now where is this carnality ? Not in the new spiritual 



" INBBED SIN''~DEPBA VITY—C0NVEB8I0N, 43 

life evidently. Then it must be in that other principle 
alluded to, called nature, or the flesh. If it be there, as 
there it must be, then in what does it consist other than in 
the perversion, darkening, benumbing and enfeebling of 
those functions by which, and those avenues through which 
the new life must manifest itself. This new life is pure, 
and its possessor is sanctified to the extent in which it ex- 
ists. There is in it nothing impure or unsanctified. It is 
in irreconcilable antagonism with all impurity and unholi- 
ness ; hence, all that is impure or unholy in the Christian 
man, must be in the Jlesh and not in the spirit — in the 
old Adam and not in the new man who has been created 
anew in Christ Jesus; or, as Wesley remarks (Vol. i, p. 
109) when speaking of a justified person : 

"He is a child of God, a member of Christ, an heir of the kingdom 
of heaven. The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, 
keepeth his heart and mmd in Christ Jesus. His very body is the tem- 
ple of the Holy Ghost, and a habitation of God through the Spirit. 
He is created anew in Christ Jesus ; he is washed, he is sanctified. 
His heart is purified by faith, he is cleansed from the corruption that 
is in the world, the love of God is shed abroad in his heart by the Holy 
Ghost which is given unto him." 

All this is true, but it is all evidently spoken of the new 
life that is in the justified person, and in the very next par- 
agraph reference is made to the flesh that lusteth against 
the spirit, and the one being directly contrary to the other. 
They are essentially and eternally distinct. The old na- 
ture is not subject to the law of God, neither can be ; hence 
we suppose it to have been under a realization of this 
truth that Paul said, in view of attaining to the resur- 
rection of the dead : " Not as though I had already at- 
tained, either were already perfect, * * * but this 
one thing I do, forgetting those things what are behind, 
and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press, 
toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in 
Christ Jesus." He recognized the antagonistic character of 



44 OB THE NE W BIB TH. 

the natures within him, and hoped through the power of an 
endless life to attain a resurrection from the dead effects of 
all sin. But it is clear from the context he did not expect 
to attain unto this resurrection all of a sudden. He did 
not expect to attain it by a leap. On the contrary, suiting 
the means to the end, he let the past bury the past, while 
he would " reach forward " and press onward toward " the 
mark." He would keep the end in vie^% and hope to 
reach it by a constant and faithful use of the means which 
lead thereto. 

This suggests the means necessary to be used in order 
to maintain, cherish and develop the purely spiritual life 
or nature, in opposition to the life or nature that is carnal. 

And, first, let it be stated and remembered, that in order 
to healthful, profitable action, there must always be some- 
thing definite before the mind. The intellective powers 
must perceive, and the volitions go out after that which is 
to be attained, and ordinarily the earnestness, strength and 
persistence of the efforts at attainment will exactly corre- 
spond to the clearness of the perception and strength of the 
voHtion. This perception includes both the end and the 
means by which that end is attained. Now let the per- 
ception be clear, distinct and correct, and the volition 
strong, then as a legitimate consequent and natural result 
the efforts toward attainment will correspond with that 
clearness and strength. They will be put forth intelligent- 
ly, energetically, and, as a general thing, successfully. The 
men know what they are about. They see the end before 
them-; they see the means that lead to that end, and by 
using the one they reasonably expect to reach the other. 

What is thus true as a general principle, is equally true 
and applicable in the formation of Christian character or 
the cultivation of Christian life. The men who till the land 
or build our houses, or construct our machinery, or write 
our dramas, or execute our finest paintings, or compose our 



♦' INBRED SIN''— DE PR A VI TY-CONVEBSION, 45- 

best music, all have their ideals, and their works correspond 
with the character of those ideals. If their ideals be im- 
perfect, low or coarse, their performances will be of like 
character. On the contrary, if they be pure, high, refined 
and complete, their performances will be like them. It is 
true their tastes may, and perhaps generally do, exceed 
their powers of execution, as these powers rarely or never 
go beyond their ideals or exceed their tastes. All this ap- 
plies to Christians as well as to others. They must have 
their ideals and follow them, and the same general princi- 
ple that applies in this respect to others ap- 
plies also to them. If their ideal as to Chris- 
tian character be the sum of the doctrines, discipline, 
usages and services of the Church, then they may 
become very good churchmen, but at the same time their 
churchism may overslaugh their religion and they become 
dead branches and separated from the living vine. If their 
ideal should be certain men or women around them, they 
will then very soon be categorized with those who, "measur- 
ing themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves 
among themselves, are not wise." They will follow their 
ideals, nor will they rise above them. Then what is the 
true Christian ideal ? A question of vast importance, and 
happily we are not left to grope in darkness for an answer. 
Christ said to Peter, and through him to all Christians 
" Follow thou me" These three short words embrace the 
entirety of our holy religion as to its doctrines, its experi- 
ence and its practice. " Follow thou me." " Embrace 
and be governed by my teachings or doctrines, imbibe my 
spirit, copy my character, and tread in my footsteps." 
There it i?, and that is all of it ; hence Christ and Christ 
only is the true Christian ideal, and the work of the Chris- 
tian is to follow Him. To^ ask and learn what did He 
teach. What spirit did He manifest. What traits of moral 
character did He exhibit, and what course of conduct did 



40 OB THE NE W BIB TH. 

He pursue. This is the Christian's ideal, and this the 
Christian's work. But will he overtake and equal that 
ideal? No; for while Jesus was " very man," and while 
he was the only specimen of humanity that ever lived and 
died on earth without the guilt and stain of sin. He was 
also the God-man. In him dwelt the fullness of the God- 
head bodily ; and though we follow him never so closely, 
he as the ideal will ever be in advance, inviting and lead- 
ing us on, on, on! 

But mark ! Through him come spiritual light and knowl- 
edge, and the nearer we come to him the more we are illu- 
mined ; the more we are illumined the more plainly do we 
see ourselves, the better do we know ourselves ; the more 
deeply conscious we are of our weaknesses, imperfections 
and dependence, and the more appreciative we are of His 
merits, His atoning sacrifice, and His mediation and advo- 
cacy. And especially the nearer we come to Him the 
more clearly do we perceive what Paul calls the sinfulness 
of sin, and the more clearly we perceive this and the better 
we understand its nature, the more regretful we are that 
we were ever under the guilt of sin or polluted by its stains ; 
and the more this knowledge abounds in us the more we 
are lost to self and the greater is our exaltation of H im 
who is our righteousness, sanctificatiori and redemption ; 
hence the more closely we follow Him the more completely 
does he become to us " all in all" 

Still further : The more closely we follow him, and the 
nearer we come to the Hght, the more brightly does that 
light shine on our pathway, and the more brightly it shines 
the more plainly do we see the way ; the more plainly do 
we perceive the dangers that beset that way and the invit- 
ing little by-ways that lead off from it ; the more clearly we 
see these the greater our safety and the more easy and 
rapid our journey along the bright and shining path itself- 

Still more : The more closely we follow Christ in all the 



« INBBED STN"-DEPBA VITY—CONVEBSION. 47 

particulars embraced in that command, the more does our 
sanctification increase and abound. The more easy are our 
conquests over "the old man with his deeds," who has been 
crucified but is not yet dead, only conquered, overcome, 
kept under, and awaiting his doom when the work of re- 
generation has been completed and humanity stands forth 
fully and gloriously regenerated and freed from all the 
effects of sin as well as from its guilt and dominion — stands 
forth as when it came from the hand of its great Creator, 
and possibly even more noble and glorious, as then it will 
not only be the work of creation but the work of redemp- 
tion as well. 

Finally : .In view of all this, and it is true, if you hear one 
say that he is as good as he ought to be, or as he could 
have been, set it down that such an one is either deceived 
in himself or is trying to deceive others. No man is so 
good as he might have been, and perhaps there is no intelli- 
gent, honest man that will say he comes up to his own stand- 
ard and estimate of moral requirement. His perceptions 
and appreciations of moral duty are in advance of his pow- 
ers of execution. Men are responsible not only for what 
they now are, and can do, but responsible for all they might 
have been, and been able to do had they always lived as 
they should have done. This they did not do ; hence their 
constant need now of the atoning merits of Christ ; hence 
also the appropriateness of the declaration, 

*' Every moment, Lord, I need 
The merit of thy death." 

And hence the glorious privilege of every true believer to 

be able to say : 

"Every moment, Lord, I have 
The merit of thy death. " 



Chapter ^ixtli. 



SUMMARY. 

TF any one carefully read the preceding chapters, and re- 
■*■ fleets closely on the points and facts presented, he will 
be likely to reach the following conclusions : 

1. That at different periods in his life John Wesley 
taught diflferent and antagonistic theories on the subject. 
This is undeniable ; and his followers, especially those of 
them who preferred to have him do their thinking rather 
than examine and think for themselves, some have espoused 
his views as expressed at one time ; others espoused those 
expressed at another time. Hence there has never been 
entire unanimity between them. 

2. That neither he nor any of his followers who em- 
braced and maintained his later views, that is, that sancti- 
fication was a work separate and distinct from that which 
they termed regeneration or the new birth, and was general- 
ly, if not always, an instantaneous work, have ever presented 
a clear, logical or scriptural distinction between what they 
termed regeneration and sanctification. The most we can 
make of what they have written is, that the one is an ad- 
vanced stage of the other, but no clear and satisfactory 
distinction either as to their nature, character, extent or 
results. While this is the case with the teachers, of course 
the learners must and will be more or less beclouded. 

3. That this doctrine of sanctification as a work d^- 
tinct from regeneration, or the new birth —phrases they often 
use interchangeably — rests upon the unproven and unprov- 
able declaration of the 9th Article of the Church of Eng- 



SUMMABY. 49 

land, that " original sin is the corruption of the nature of 
every man, and this infection of nature doth remain, yea, 
in them that are regenerated." 

This same view in regard to " infection of nature " is 
held and taught by the doctors of the Catholic Church ; 
and while Mr. Wesley's latter-day followers look for deliv- 
erance through instantaneous sanctification, the Catholic 
doctor looks for deliverance through a purgatory ; both 
views are offshoots from the same parent stock. And it 
may not be out of place to add that this view of the " in- 
fection of nature " is very closely connected with the doc- 
trine of baptismal regeneration — a doctrine Wesley him- 
self believed and taught (see Works, vol. vi, pp. 14, 15; 
sec. 2, P. i). '^ The gm// of original sin taken away by 
baptism, the infection remaining." That is the view, the 
whole of which grows out of a dangerous psychological 
error. 

And, then, as this "residue" theory lies at the very 
foundation, and, indeed, constitutes the foundation on which 
rests the doctrine of sactification as modernly taught, it is 
directly in place to call for the proof of that theory. Give 
us the proof that " corruption doth still inhere" in the na- 
ture of that man who is in Christ Jesus, and consequently, 
according to the deduction of the apostle, is a "new crea- 
ture," or, very properly rendered, " a new creation " — cre- 
ated anew in Christ Jesus. Is he created anew, in whole 
■or in part only ? " In part only," saith this basic doctrine 
of modern sanctificationists. But Paul did not say so. He 
said, "Old things have passed away; behold! ^//things 
are become new." No ; not quite all, replies this remain- 
ing corruption theory ; for "this infection of nature doth 
remain, yea, in them that are regenerated." 

Now, the question is, can one be in Christ Jesus in the 
sense in which Paul uses that phrase (2 Cor. 5-17), and yet 
not be " regenerated ?" If so, then we may possibly har- 



50 SUMMABY. 

monize these views ; but if rot, then this remaining cor- 
ruption theory and the apostle's deduction are irreconcil- 
able. 

If there is one single passage of Scripture which di- 
rectly asserts that one born of God, and in a normal con- 
dition as a new born soul, still has a degree of depravity in 
him, where is that passage ? Produce it, and we will sub- 
missively bow to it, and in good faith accept its teachings. 

Mr. Wesley — and we do not find any who have at all 
improved upon what he set forth on this subject in his ser- 
mon "On Sin in Believers" (Works, Vol. i, p. io8) — 
quotes and enlarges upon a number of texts which he re- 
garded as bearing on this subject, but to what extent they 
support this theory a little careful examination will show. 

He sets out by declaring (p. 109) " the state of a justi- 
fied person as inexpressibly great and glorious. He is born 
again. He is a child of God. * * * * jje is washedy 
he is sanctified (italics his own). His heart is purified ; he 
is cleansed from the corruption that is in the world ; the 
love of God is shed abroad in his heart. And so long as he 
walketh in love — which he may always do — he hath power 
over both outward and inward sin, even from the moment 
he is justified." 

All this we steadfastly believe ; and what more could be 
expected ? What more has been promised ? The spiritual 
struggles and conflicts the Christian experiences are easily 
accounted for by reference to that duality of nature spoken 
of in a former chapter — a duality Wesley acknowledged 
when he said, " from the moment of his conversion there 
are two natures in man — one called the spirit, and the other 
termed the flesh ; these are contrary to, and ever warring 
against, each other." And a far greater than Wesley taught 
the same doctrine. This doctrine properly presented will 
explain the whole matter. As the new life " begotten in 
us " is cherished according to the laws of spiritual life, it 



SUMMARY, 51 

Strengthens, and as it strengthens its power over the flesh 
increases. So that it becomes less and less difficult for one 
to keep his body in subjection. And the work of regenera- 
tion, taken in its most extensive sense, beginning with the first 
illumining of " that light which hghteth every man that 
cometh into the world," and in its processes including 
awakening, conviction, repentance, faith, the new birth, 
adoption, sanctification and redemption, culminates in the 
re-creation of man to, and perhaps beyond, the state in 
which he was first formed. Then the wisdom, power and 
goodness of the Creator were manifest in the creation or 
generation ; but in the r^-generation they will shine forth, 
in connection with the wonderfully glorious processes of 
the redemptory scheme. 

But to return. Mr. Wesley was not content to leave the 
justified man in the condition described in the extract above, 
but notwithstanding all that is there said, he insists that 
such an one is not freed from all sin. The celebrated 9th 
Article had taught it, and he was a rigid churchman, and 
must accept the teaching. Hence, in the sermon alluded 
to, he quotes eleven pasages to support his views, a part of 
which may be now passed under review. 

He first quotes Gal. v. 17: "The flesh lusteth against 
the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh : These are con-- 
trary, the one to the other." 

Very well. On the principle of the dual nature in? 
believers this may be easily explained ; but what has it to> 
do with the question of '' remaining corruption ? " 

Mr. W. says that in this the apostle is speaking to 
believers, and describing the state of believers in general. 
Suppose he was, then his words would go much farther in 
the dual theory than that of the " remaining corruption." 
But Paul's very first remark to the Galatians in this epistle 
is, " I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that 
called you into the grace of Christ." He calls them 



52 iy'U3IMABY. 

*' foolish Galatians," and tells them that in seeking to be 
justified by the law they are fallen from grace. Not all, 
however, for in chap. vi. i he says, <' Brethren, if a man be 
overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such an 
one." So, instead of " describing the state of believers in 
general," he was writing to a church, part of whom were 
formalists, part legalists, and part truly spiritual. But we 
see nothing in the text quoted, nor in any other part of the 
epistle, that estabHshes the " remaining corruption " theory. 

He next quotes i Cor. iii. 1-3: " I, brethren, could not 
speak with you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, as 
^into babes in Christ. Ye are yet carnal : for whereas 
there is among you envyings and strife are ye not carnal ? " 

In reference to this our first remark is, that in chapter i, 
Averse 2, Paul addressed '^ the Church of God which is at 
Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus." 
Again, chap. vi. ii, he says of them, *' Ye are washed, ye 
are sanctified.*' And now were they carnal, and in the 
modern acceptation of the term, sanctified at the same 
time ? If so, what and where was the good of their sanc- 
tification ? Or, 

2. Were some of them carnal and others in a sanctified 
state ? If so, then should we not infer that the envying 
and strife were on the part of the carnal only; but in 
neither case have we any support for " the residue " theory. 

Paul rebuked the erring, not those of whom this same 
sermon says "have power over outward and inward sin, 
€ven from the moment they are justified." 

Unless the writer greatly mistakes the true note was 
struck when in the same sermon the author said : 

" Indeed, this grand point, that there are two contrary 
principles, nature and grace, the flesh and the spirit, runs 
through all the epistles of St. Paul, yea, through all the 
Holy Scriptures." 

That is so ; and it is the work of the 'spirit to control the 



iSUMMAEY, 5S 

flesh. As long as we are in this world, so long do we have 
instincts, appetites, propensities and affections that pertain 
to this life only ; and to eradicate them, were it possible, 
would be to dehumanize ourselves. So long as we are ca- 
pable of suffering hunger or thirst, so long are we liable ta 
eat or drink to excess. So long as we are capable of re- 
sentment, so long are we liable to anger. The same is true 
of any and of all our pathematic sensibilities. These are 
parts and parcels of ourselves. They must abide with us 
while we live, and in our fallen state are ever liable to ir- 
regular or excessive indulgence, and the power of grace or 
the spirit of the Holy One only can keep them under due 
and proper subjection, and direct them always to proper 
ends. We cannot understand how these appetites, etc.^ 
could exist without carrying with them a continued liability 
to irregular exercise or unlawful indulgence; and to sup- 
pose that the "life begotten in us " destroys either this lia- 
bility or the natural appetite is to suppose that which is 
alike contrary to philosophy, fact and human experience* 
Both the thing and its liabilities remain ; and though the 
spirit may so abound as to hold the flesh in complete and 
constant subjection, hold it on the Cross in a state of cru- 
cifixion, it does not exterminate nor destroy it. And this, 
perhaps, is the highest attainable state on earth wherein 
all the mental and sensitive powers of the man are brought 
and kept continually under the influence and control of 
the purely spiritual. 

In the sermon under notice other references are made, 
but they are no nearer establishing the " remaining cor- 
ruption " theory than those already examined. There are 
no passages of Scripture that sustain it. At least we find 
none. On the contrary, we find the general tenor of 
the Scriptures in regard to the new birth to be such as 
not to be easily, if at all, reconciled with the idea that par- 
tial depravity or corruption is the normal condition of the 



54 JSUMMARY. 

regenerate. It would occupy too much space to quote 
here all the texts bearing on the subject, but respectfully re- 
fer the reader to 2 Cor. v. 17, 18; Rom. vi. 18 and 22; 
Eph. iv. 22-24; Col. iii. 9, 10, and others of like char- 
acter. 

And now let the reader be reminded, and keep in mind, 
that unless this doctrine of the 9th Article, that " the cor- 
ruption of nature doth remain in them that are regener- 
ate," be sustained by the testimony of the Scriptures, then 
the doctrine of sanctification, as it is commonly understood 
and taught, must go with it. The first is the base, the other 
the superstructure; and if the 9th Article doctrine can be 
proven, why then let it be done. 



^fe»pt^t Seventh* 



I. SANCTIFICATION. 2. SANCTIFY. 3. SANCTIFIED. 4. 

SANCTIFIETH. 

'T^HESE words may be found in the Holy Scriptures. They 
-■■ mean something. What is it ? The first occurs four 
times in the New Testament. The second occurs in both 
the Old and New Testaments — in all, sixty-five times. 
The third occurs also in both the Old and the New — in all, 
fifty-two times. The fourth is found in the New Testament 
four times. 

There may possibly have been a mistake in the computa- 
tion. There may be a few more or a few less than the 
numbers given, but the count may be accepted as nearly 
or quite correct. 

The first, " sanctification," occurs in i Cor. i. 30, where 
it is said, " Christ is of God, made unto us sanctification." 
I Thess iv. 3 : " This is the will of God, even your sancti- 
fication." Again, in verse 4 : " Every one of you should 
know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor." 
In 2 Thess. ii. 13, it is said ; " God hath from the begin- 
ning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the 

spirit and belief of the truth." And nearly the same in i 
Pet. i. 2. 

The word sanctify occurs, according to count fifty-nine 
times in the Old and six times in the New Testament ; while 
the participle sanctified occurs in the Old Testament thirty- 
seven times, and in the New fifteen times. 

The fourth, " sanctifieth," occurs four times in the New 
Testament. The first and second times it is used with 



56 1. SANCTIFICATION—2. SANCTIFY. 

reference to the altar and the gift. The third time it is- 
used thus : " Both he that sanctifieth and they who are 
sanctified are all of one." And the fourth use is in regard 
to the blood of bulls and goats, sanctifieth, etc., Heb. ix. 13. 

The other two forms of the word occur here and there, 
in various parts of the Bible, and are evidently used not 
only in divers connections, but in quite different accepta- 
tions as well. We read of the people being required to- 
sanctify themselves, of vessels being sanctified, of husbands 
being sanctified by their wives, or of wives by their husbands 
— of things being sanctified by the word of God and by 
prayer — of days being sanctified, &c., &c. Hence, to 
obtain the sense in which the words are used is matter of 
very great importance. Careful attention is therefore asked 
to what here follows, both in regard to the definitions and 
to the references made. 

We take the word sanctified as a verb transitive, and. 
remark — 

1. AVhen it is used in reference to the Divine Being, it 
signifies to separate and appoint anything to a holy and 
religious use. God sanctified the seventh day; the first 
bom were sanctified ; and so of the tabernacle, the temple,, 
the priests, the altars, the sacrifices, were sanctified under 
the law. 

2. To cleanse from the pollution of sin, to free one from 
the dominion of sin, and to invest with the principle of 
holiness, as in i Cor. vi. 11 : "And such were some of 
you; but ye are washed, ye are sanctified." 

3. It means to manifest the glory and vindicate the- 
honor of God from the blasphemies of the wicked. Ezek* 
xxxvi. 23. The Lord was sanctified in the people after 
they had striven at the waters of Meribah. Num. xx. 13.. 

4. To free the creature from the curse that sin has 
brought upon it, and make it fit for a holy use. Hence i 
Tim. iv. 5 : " The creature is sanctified by the word of 
God and prayer." 



3. SANCTIFIED— 4: SANCTIFIETH. 57 

5. To separate, ordain and appoint the Messiah as King 
of the Church. John x. ^6. 

Thus far, when the word is used in reference to God. 
There may be other significations in which it is used, but 
these are all we at present remember. 

But to sanctify is also spoken of in reference to man, in 
which cases it signifies — 

1. To purify and be in a proper condition to appear be- 
fore the Lord and partake of holy things. Exodus xix, 10. 
II. 22. 

2. To prepare. " Sanctify yourselves against to-morrow 
and ye shall eat flesh." Num. xi. 18 ; also Josh, iii, 5. 

3. To praise God, to acknowledge His majesty, to wor- 
ship Him, and endeavor to make Him known ; as, Sanctify 
the- Lord of Hosts himself, and let Him be your fear." 
Isa. viii. 13. " I will be sanctified through them that come 
nigh me." Lev. x. 3. 

In this case also there may be other significations in 
which the word is used, but these are sufficient for the 
present purpose. 

Now, it is suggested that all the significations in which 
the word is used in the Bible may be arraigned under or 
included in the four heads following : 

1. To separate and set apart some things or persons 
from a common to a holy use, as the tabernacle, the'vessels, 
the altar, the priests, etc. 

2. To employ a thing in religious and holy exercises, in 
the public and private worship of God, and the celebra- 
tion of His works. In this sense, as well as in the former, 
the seventh day is sanctified. 

3. To make persons holy who were before impure and 
defiled ; and this is the sense of the word in those pas- 
sages where the chosen of God are spoken of as sanctified. 

4. It signifies to confess, and celebrate that which was 
holybefore; and so it is to be understood in all those 
places where God is said to be sanctified. 



58 1. SANCTICATION—2. SANCTIFY. 

There it is. Few or none will question the correctness 
of the definition. But we may go a step farther, and say 
that, as a general, if not a universal, thing, the word may 
be regarded as denoting either a setting apart from a com- 
mon to a holy use, or the making holy that which was 
before polluted and unclean. In this sense, and as applied 
to persons, it is to be accepted as denoting — 

1. That those persons are separated and set apart exclu- 
sively for the service of God ; that they have indeed " re- 
nounced the devil and all his works, the vain pomp and 
glory of the world, with all covetous desires of the same, 
and the carnal desires of the flesh," and have inwardly and 
determinedly avowed " they will not follow or be led by 
them." How much is expressed by all this can be properly 
understood and appreciated only by such as calmly, deli- 
berately, patiently and prayerfully consider the full import 
of the words used. In this sense, men are separated from 
the world, consecrated to God's service, solemnly pledged 
to be and to do whatever He requires of them, and con- 
stantly to war against all they have renounced. 

2. The making holy or clean that which was before pol- 
luted or unclean, or the cleansing and purifying the sinner 
from the guilt, dominion and pollution pf sin. The guilt 
of sm is taken away in justification ; the dominion over 
sin is attained by the investment and maintenance of the 
hidden or purely spiritual life ; and the pollution of sin is 
removed by " the washing of regeneration and the renew- 
ing of the Holy Ghost." 

Thus far, all is plain enough. But we do not yet find 
that separate and distinct work of grace, superadded to 
justification and the New Birth, which men in modern 
times call sanctification. Where is it ? What is it ? The 
Catechism of our Church teaches that our sanctification is 
begun in our regeneration, and, "being begun, we receive 
power to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ, and 
to live in the exercise of inward and outward holiness." 



3. SANCTIFIED-^. JSAJSfCTIFIETH. 59 

Very well. What more could we expect, or could be ex- 
pected of us, than to " live in the exercise of inward and 
outward holiness ? " Is it possible we should do more than 
this ? " Inward and outward holiness " are very compre- 
hensive terms. What is there in the line or range of holi- 
ness they do not embrace ? Can you think of anything 
good in man, or to man, that is outside their legitimate 
limits ? You will all agree that this ^^power to grow and live " 
is always proportionate to the obedience, faith and necessi- 
ties of the recipient ; and what more is or can be required ? 

But the catechism goes on, and, in answer to the ques- 
tion, " What is entire satisfaction ? " says : 

" The state of being entirely cleansed from sin, so as to 
love God with all our heart, and mind, and soul, and 
strength, and our neighbor as ourselves." 

Here, then, is the definition. Let us take the liberty care- 
fully to examine it : 

1. It says sanctification is a state — ^2X state. John 
Wesley and all his preachers in the Conference of 1744 
said: "Talking of a justified or sanctified j/^/"^ tends to 
mislead men, almost naturally leading them to trust in what 
was done in a moment, whereas we are every hour and 
every moment pleasing or displeasing to God, according to 
our works — according to the whole of our inward tempers 
and our outward behavior." This is easily reconciled with 
the first quotation from the Catechism ; but let him, who 
can, reconcile it with the second. Which shall we accept ? 

2. In this definition of "entire sanctification," there are 
the marks of that unproven doctrine of the 9th Article, as- 
serting, "This infection doth remain, yea, in them that are 
regenerated." This lies at the base of all such teaching as 
that of the definition above. Let the foundation be es- 
tablished, and then the superstructure will be accepted. 

3. Let us judge of this "j-/^/^ " by the results which are 
said to follow. The state is that of " being entirely cleansed 



60 1. SANCTJFICATION—2. SANCTIFY. 

from sin;" the results, "so as to love God with all our 
heart, and mind, and soul, and strength, and our neighbor 
as ourselves." 

Now, let it be observed that the results of this sanctified 
state, as they are here set forth, are not confined, nor do 
they relate exclusively, to the love of God. They include 
the love of our neighbor; and it is fair to assume they 
also include other loves, such as parental, filial, conjugal, 
and" Christian love one for another. All these are com- 
manded in the Scriptures, and therefore may be looked for 
in the " entirely cleansed " or sanctified persons, as well as 
in ordinary Christians. It is, then, clear that, whatever 
may be meant by " thou shalt love the Lord thy God with 
all thy heart," etc., it is nof meant that we shall have no 
love for any other being. This much is clear. But as 
our relations and obligations to God involve, comprehend 
and transcend all other relations and obligations, it is fair 
and legitimate to infer the meaning to be that He shall be 
first honored, revered, loved and obeyed, while all other 
love and obedience shall be subordinate to His superior 
claims. That is to say : we shall love him before and above 
all things else, and our love to Him shall control all our 
love to others. Now, if this be so — if this be the import 
of the command — we may ask the following plain question : 
Can a man love God at all — in the Scriptural sense of the 
word, can he be a real christian, unless he love God supe- 
riorly to all things else ? Does the Father of All accept a 
secondary or subordinate love from any ? If so, how shall 
we interpret the command, " Thou shalt have no other 
Gods before me?' 

Again : Do we not, by a law of our nature, worship 
that we love best ? and if we have a love stronger than 
that for God, do we not in our hearts worship the object of 
that strong love, and, if so, are we not spiritual idolaters ? 
If we love the world, we worship the world ; if we love 



3. SANCTIFIED— i. JSANCTIFIETH. 61 

self, we worship self; and if we love God, we worship God ; 
but " no man can serve two masters." " Where the treas- 
ure is, there will the heart be also." While we would not, 
for any consideration, offend one of the little ones that be- 
lieve in Christ, we respectfully suggest to all the propriety 
of closely and prayerfully inquiring whether they have ever 
been truly converted ? or, if so, whether they have main- 
tained and developed the spiritual life begotten in them ? 
Ask the modern perfectionists what they mean by sanctifi- 
cation or Christian perfection, and they will likely reply, 
" Perfect in love " — not in knowledge nor in wisdom, but 
love. Let us see. We go to Lake Superior, fill a cup with 
the water ; does not the water in that cup partake of all 
the essential properties and characteristics of water as cer- 
tainly and as fully as that in all the lake ? Are not the 
component parts of a single drop the same as the compo- 
nent parts of all the rest ? " Yes ; but we mean perfect in 
degree, not in nature." The cup is full, the lake is full; 
and are not both perfect in degree ? How will you esti- 
mate degree in such cases, except by capacity ? and if each 
be filled according to its capacity, how can we go beyond ? 
We cannot make a lake of the cup, nor a cup of the lake ? 
Paul prays that Christians may " know the love of Christ 
which passeth knowledge," intimating, we suppose, that 
they might know the nature of that love while its extent 
and fullness were beyond the region of their grasp ; and 
yet the amount of this knowledge each gains will be pro- 
portionate to his faith and obedience. 

" Oh, but I feel I am not holy as I should be, or ought 
to be." Very likely you do ; and perhaps you have been 
seeking for some real or supposed s^a/e or condition, when 
you should have been every hour and every moment seek- 
ing then and there to please God, both in your inward 
tempers and outward behavior. Perhaps that is or has 
been the difficulty with you. Or, it may have been that, 



62 1. SANCTIFICATION—2. SANCTIFY. 

disregarding the apostolic teaching in regard to the two 
natures or principles, the flesh and the spirit, you have 
cherished one for awhile, and then the other awhile. Or, 
it may have been that you lived pretty much after the flesh 
during eight or ten months of the year, and then, " in the 
revival season," spent one or two months trying to recover 
from the backslidings of the other ten. If, in either re- 
spect, this has been your course, no wonder you feel as you 
do. It is not at all strange. The wonder is you do not 
feel worse. 

Please turn back to the chapters, on this part of the 
subject, read attentively, and see if you do not find that 
which will exactly apply to your case. 

One chapter more will include what it is proposed to say 
further on this subject ; and the reader will please bear in 
mind that the views expressed are those of an individual. 
He may be in error, but can sincerely adopt the language 
of Pope, in his Universal Prayer : 

**If I am right, Thy Grace impart. 
Still in the right to stay ; 
If I am wrong, O teach my heart 
To find the better way." 



^Un^T^Ux (^x^Wh. 



CONCLUSION. 

In the previous chapters it was intimated again and again 
that indistinctness, indefiniteness, confusion and error in 
doctrine resulted from using the words regeneration, justi- 
fication and new birth interchangeably. That is, the using 
the one for the other, as though they meant the same 
thing. Many of our best writers when they define these 
terms are plain and satisfactory, but in their general 
writings they fail to conform to their own definitions, and 
there begins the confusion. 

Whenever these points were directly alluded to in these 
chapters, it was with the understanding on the part of the 
writer : • 

Jnrs^ — That regeneration in its proper and most compre- 
hensive sense ; that is, the re-producing or re-creating of 
man under the redemptory scheme, began with the first 
spiritual illuminings of that light that lighteth every man 
that Cometh into the world, the first influences of the Spirit 
of the Great Unseen upon the spirit of man, and includes 
in its processes awakening to a sense of guilt and danger, 
conviction for sin, repentence, faith, justification, the new 
birth, sanctification, and terminates in glorification. Christ 
came " to destroy the works of the devil." " The last en- 
emy that shall be destroyed is death ; " hence until sin, and 
all the effects of sin, including death itself, are all de- 
stroyed, man is not completely regenerated — not entirely 
re-produced or re-made. 

Secondly — It has been contended that the hidden, mystic 



64 CONCL USION. 

Christian life is a /i/e begotten hi us by the Holy Ghost. A 
life begotten, not imparted, not implanted in the common 
acceptation of those words but generated, and as genera- 
tion precedes birth naturally, so regeneration in a certain 
yet important sense precedes the new birth. Before natural 
birth there is a degree of life, so there is a degree of life be- 
fore spiritual birth. To be sure, this life may be extin- 
guished either before or after the new birth, but that de- 
pends not on the life itself, but on the recipient, who may 
or may not cherish it as required by the nature of the life, 
and by the laws which govern it. But the awakening of 
the soul to a sense of sin and danger, or the conviction for 
sin, is as truly the work of , the Holy Spirit as is the new 
birth, and is part and parcel of the regenerating process. 

As best the present writer can understand Bishop But- 
ler and the large class of writers who agree with him, they 
teach that the most that religion does for us here, is to re- 
store a disordered moral constitution. This it does unques- 
tionably. But how ? By a new life begotten within us, 
and then cherished, maintained and developed agreeably 
to the plan of the' gospel of Christ — a new life which, like 
all other life, has its laws and is governed by them. 

Thirdly — It has been maintained that just in proportion 
as this purely spiritual life existed in men, in that propor- 
tion or degree were they sanctified — that is set apart and 
cleansed for the service of God. This is the " Spirit," and 
is always pure and holy in itself, and always at war with 
the *' flesh " — the one lusting or striving against the other. 

The medical profession claim to have discovered a cure 
for ulcers by a process they term "supplantation," As we 
understand it, it is this : They take a small piece of pure, 
healthy flesh from the person afflicted with the ulcer, or 
from another person, and place it right in the midst of the 
diseased part, where it soon exerts a healing and transform- 
ing influence which continues until new flesh is formed and 



CONCL UJSION. 65 

the festering ulcer disappears. Whether this be so or not 
it may illustrate the idea advanced. The new life begotten 
is in the midsts of moral ulceration, moral putridity. It is 
in the midst^ in the ego, the /, the me, and its nature, office 
and work is to exercise a transforming influence until " the 
whole lump is leavened " — until all that is meant by my 
thoughts my feelings, my will, my desires, etc., are brought 
under its controlling influence; while the degree and 
strength of the life will depend upon the faith and obedi- 
ence of the recipient. 

Fourthly, — It has been maintained that this life is not 
stationary, that it strengthens or weakens, lives or dies ac- 
cordingly as the proper nutriment is or is not supplied it. 
That there is no degree of holiness the soul can attain in. 
this world that does not admit of increase and advance- 
ment. If one fall under the delusion that he has attained 
a state from which there is no advancement, he will soon 
find his soul withering, its energies repressed and the holy 
oil gone from the lamp, leaving nothing but a profitless 
profession. To meet the longings and deep aspirations of 
the soul, the merciful and wise Creator has set forth an 
eternity of progression in holiness and bliss, and the more 
holy a man becomes, the more intense, earnest and quench- 
less is his desire for its increase in his soul. The higher 
the soul rises in holiness the more earnest are its out-reach- 
ings after still greater heights and the more fixed and de- 
termined are its upward struggles. This seems to be an 
unvarying law in the divine economy. 

On the other hand, if the desire for holiness be weak, 
irregular, feeble and varying, it may be set down, that there 
is a very low state of grace, or else there is in the heart no 
life of holiness at all. So true and so important is this, 
that it becomes every professed follower of Chiist to in- 
quire with all diligence and in all sincerity and earnestness, 
"Am I longing after holiness ? Am I conscious of my 



«66 CONCLUSION. 

imperfections, of my unlikeness to Christ, and do I sink 
into nothingness and self-abasement before him? Ami 
ever fleeing to the fountain of redemption seeking grace 
and power of the Holy Spirit ? Does my soul always cry, 
* Nearer my God to thee ? ' " 

If this be not the case, then there is danger, serious, 
fearful danger, and it is exceedingly appropriate to say, 
" Awake thou that sleepest." 

As Bishop Huntington has well said, "All the outward 
glory and beauty of the Hebrew worship which the Lord 
commanded Moses, has vanished into the eternal splen- 
dors of the gospel and been fulfilled in Christ. What teach- 
ing has it left ? What other than this, that we are to en- 
grave our ' holiness to the Lord,' first on the heart, and 
then on all the heart goes out into, through the brain and 
the hand." And to this we add the language to Bishop 
Lee ; " Holiness is not a vague abstraction, a visionary 
ideal, nor something too sublime for mortals, but the carry- 
ing out in life the principles of our faith. It is not gloom, 
austerity, asceticism, the hair cloth and the cell, nor entire 
absorbedness in divine contemplation and adoring raptures, 
but the formation in us of the mind which was in Christ 
Jesus." 

And now a word in conclusion. Christian man, as long 
as you are in flesh, so long may you expect the flesh to an- 
tagonize the spirit. So long as you have appetites, pro- 
pensities and affections that pertain only to this life, so long 
will they need to be kept under, for there will always be 
more or less danger of their being indulged either in a 
wrong direction or to an unlawful extent ; so long, there- 
fore, will you have need '• to watch and pray lest you enter 
into temptation." The great battle ground of the Chris- 
tian life is in your own breast ; but as surely as you do your 
duty, as surely as you are faithful, so surely will the spirit 
prevail over the flesh, and all will be safe. Then with the 



CONCLUSION. 67 

Apostle Paul, count not yourself as already perfect, but fol- 
low after, forgetting the things that are behind ; press to- 
ward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in 
Christ Jesus. 

But to you who walk in darkness, having no light, and 
yet feel more or less keenly the weight of your sins, and 
feel some desire, however faint and feeble, to flee the wrath 
to come and be saved from your sins, permit me to say, 
these desires were " kindled by reclaiming grace." They 
are the beginnings of the regenerating process in your 
heart. Cherish them as you would cherish your dearest 
treasure. They are as tender plants among many rank, 
noxious weeds. Much attention, with great care and dil- 
igence, will be required to keep them alive, and yet your 
ALL depends on your bestowing that attention and care 
upon them. Turn your thoughts, your feelings and your 
purposes away from their opposites and turn to them. 
" Cease to do evil, learn to do well. Let the wicked for- 
sake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let 
him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon 
him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." 
" Him that cometh to me," saith Christ, *' shall in no wise 
be cast out." Make the trial honestly, earnestly, persist- 
ently, and see if it be not so. • 



^ 



A BRIEF DISCUSSION 



• 



OF THli 



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ATION 



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Baptismal Regeneration, Rev. C. W. Miller 25 

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Bible View of Baptism, Boland 15 

Bledsoe on Baptism 25 

Campbellite, Why I am Not A, Rev. T. O. Summers, per doz... 40 

Charity Superior to Knowledge, Winans lo 

Church, The, Our Duty in It, Rev. F. X. Forster 10 

Church and the Lord's Supper, The, Rev. H. M. Ford 10 

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Cummins' Movement in the Protestant Episcopal Church, The, Bledsoe.^.. 15 

Dancing, Essay on, M 'Anally 1 lo 

Deists, Short Method With, Leslie 7 

Earthly and the Heavenly Temple, The, Rev. CD. N. Campbell 10 

Economical Housekeeper. » 25 

Fraternal Addresses Delivered at the General Conference of the M. E. 

Church, ill 1878 25 

Go or Die, An Essay on Missions. By Rev. D. C. Kelley 20 

Go or Send, Prize Essay on Missions. By Rev. A. G. Haygood 15 

God in the Old Testament Scriptures, Bishop Marvin 25 

In Memoriam — Bishop J. O. Andrew, Rev. A. B. Longstieet, D. D., LL. 

D., Rev. W. A. Smith, D. D 6o_ 

Linguistic Curiosities, D. R. M' Anally, A. M 15 

May Christians Dance. By J. H. Brooks, D. D „ 

Methodist Episcopal Church, South, The Catholic Constitution and Relation 

of the, T. O. Summers, D. D 7 

Methodism in Missouri, Mc Anally 10 

Missions, Thoughts on, W. G. E. Cunnyngham, D. D 15 

Papal Infallibility, Rev. G. VV. Hughey 25 

Pilgrim's Progress 10 

Resources of the Indian Territory, and Political Condition of the Indians. 

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Reasons for Not Joining the Baptist Church, Joseph Travis. 7 

Rules of Order for Deliberation Assemblies. By Bishop H. N. McTyeire, 

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Sanctification, An Es;-ay on, Rev. Lovick Pierce, D. D 25 

Smith's Discourse, Rev. W. A., on the Death of Bishop Soule 15 

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IS DAVIS A TRAITOR? Or avas Secessiox a 
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